Star Trek: Overwatch B2: Of Things Unseen
by Jupitus Garth
Summary: Following on from where B1 left off. Klingons are in the sector and a planetary colony has been destroyed by assailants unknown. Will those in command of Starbase 59 be able to find the culprits?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Was ist das? After almost 3 years, (Has it really been that long?) I have finally decided to plop out a sequel to a story, that for anyone who read the first one, has probably forgotten everything that happened in it, or that it even existed.**

 **Also, a ridiculously popular multiplayer game called Overwatch has been released since I posted the first story. This was unanticipated and a coinkydink. Before anyone thinks it, this is not some bizarro crossover.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

 **Of course, Star Trek and all of its characters belong to CBS/Paramount. No copywrite infringement intended.**

* * *

 **Recap (Contains spoilers for the first story)  
**

 **Starbase 59 is a new station on the frontier. It's big but understaffed. While on route to his new posting, the ship Admiral Thalon is aboard, the USS Evergreen is destroyed by Klingons and the survivors are stranded on a moon until help can arrive.  
**

 **The Klingon vessel is there to observe Starfleet in that sector and isn't supposed to reveal themselves, however, there was a mutiny and take over by a Klingon named Kroless, who imprisoned the Captain.**

 **Eventually, aid arrives but there is a battle. During the altercations, the Klingon ship is damaged and can no longer pursue. The survivors, including the admiral are rescued and they escape back to Starbase 59.**

 **The Klingon ship's first officer, with help from the engineer and others, manage to retake the Klingon ship from Kroless and put the rightful captain, Wruk back in command. However, the crew no longer respects Wruk due to his failure in allowing Kroless to take command. They see T'kinta, the first officer as the rightful captain as she was the one who organized the retaking of the ship. Knowing that her presence now jeopardised his position, Wruk is forced to challenge her to combat, one that will result in one being killed and the other taking the ship as their own. The challenge ends with Wruk being killed by T'kinta and her taking the rank of Captain.**

 **During this, a colony world has reported that a strange ship has landed outside their main city and the USS London is sent to investigate. On arrival, they discover that the colony has been destroyed.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

T'kinta, Captain of the Imperial Klingon Ship _K'intlaj_ , sat stiffly in the command chair as she stared out fiercely at the viewscreen which was currently displaying the Starfleet frigate _U.S.S. London_.

They both shared an orbit together over what had once been a Federation colony world. It seemed the planet had succumbed to a rather vicious attack, one that had wiped out every single one of the inhabitants and irradiated the cities making recolonization in the near future unlikely.

The Starfleet vessel had absolutely no idea that they were in orbit with them and she had Chief Engineer Morro to thank for that. Without him and his fellow engineers, they would have been unable to sustain their cloak for so long due to the damage they had sustained from the Starfleet battlecruiser designated as the _U.S.S. Shaandra_.

Of course, if it hadn't been for the traitor Kroless, they wouldn't have been damaged in the first place, nor would her now former future mate, Wruk, be dead. Kroless was dead himself, killed by her love Wruk. With the traitor dead, she had thought that it was over, that Wruk would take his place and be the rightful commander of this vessel.

It wasn't to be.

Because of Kroless' betrayal, Wruk had lost the respect of the crew. He had lost the ability to be a commanding presence others found worthy of following and as such was no longer truly the master of his ship. Instead, the crew looked to her for leadership, something that Wruk rightly saw as a challenge to his authority, to his place as the keeper of this vessel.

Order and respect had to be re-established, his role as the commander had to be re-asserted and maintained. He needed to prove that he deserved the respect of the crew and to do that he issued a challenge to her.

That challenge was combat, as was their way. The winner would prove themselves worthy to take command of the ship, and the loser's life would be forfeit. It was the most basic and easiest way for him to regain control and tradition and her own honour demanded she accepted.

Looking back now, T'kinta questioned as to whether Wruk had been thinking straight. Perhaps the shame of losing the ship to Kroless had been too much for him and no matter what he did, no matter how much greater he became, that utter and complete failure would have always loomed over him. It would be a shame that he could never let go of, like a dagger hanging over his head that was ready to fall and skewer him at any moment.

With it over and him dead, K'tinka couldn't help but wonder if she should have relented her honour for her love and taken his blade to her throat willingly? She hated herself for taking Wruk's life and she knew it was far too late to dwell on it now, but she couldn't help it. He was dead by her blade and now she was in command of the ship that should be, by all rights, his.

"Captain, the Earther ship has broken orbit at half-impulse."

T'kinta looked over at the freshly promoted lieutenant who manned the tactical station. She couldn't remember his name, only that he hardly deserved to be on the bridge, let alone in charge of the weapons.

"It is a Starfleet ship," she corrected, with a sneer.

He simply shrugged in response, much to her annoyance.

She turned forward and faced the helm. "Pursue them at maximum sensor range. Match their speed and course. Let us see where they are going."

T'kinta rose up from where she sat and strode up to the tactical station. Unlike she, who had a heavy ridged forehead and brow, the man who operated her previous station had a head as smooth as a humans.

He looked at her as she spoke to him, her tone not hiding the contempt she felt for him. "Do you know why it is not an Earther ship?" she asked.

"No," he replied with disinterest.

She turned to Devuk, who manned the communications board. "Do you know why?"

The other smooth-headed Klingon responded immediately, "Because the _U.S.S. London_ crewed by Andorians."

"Correct," she affirmed, glaring at the poor excuse for a weapons officer. "Andorians are _not_ humans and they are _not_ from Earth."

The man shrugged again, making her grind her teeth. T'kinta seriously considered smashing her forehead into his, but held back, as his fragile, smooth head, might just cave in from the blunt force of the impact.

"Call them Starfleet, or nothing at all," she commanded.

"I will, Captain," he said, again with disinterest.

"See that you do," she warned, as she moved back to her chair.

The helmsman glanced back at her. "They are heading towards the outer part of the star system," he reported.

"When they go to warp, we will follow," T'kinta ordered. "It is about time we continued the mission we were sent out here to do."

The mission they had been given was to find out the reason why Starfleet and the Federation were out here. Was it the simple expansion of their boarders, or was there something more insidious behind it? The Empire had learned to be very observant of the Federation and their allies. Sometimes their interest in a new sector wasn't simply to expand their influence. On occasion, there had also been ulterior, far more dangerous motives.

It was her duty to the Empire to discover if this was the case here, that they were hiding something, or if it was simple expansion as what was claimed? The destruction of one of their colonies made her lean towards the former.

T'kinta leant back in her chair and stared out at the Starfleet frigate which was displayed clearly on their viewer.

Unlike the Humans, which she despised, she respected the Andorians. It was her opinion that if it hadn't been for the formation of the Federation, that they would have been a great civilisation and would have been at the seat of a magnificent empire.

Instead, they had fallen in line like dogs and followed the Humans, Vulcans and the Tellarites. They were warriors at heart, not politicians and pacifists like the aforementioned Humans and Vulcans and they certainly weren't the vermin that were the Tellarites. They preferred action like the Klingons, not pointless talk.

There were times of course when the Humans had impressed her. Such as the battle between the _K'intlaj_ and the _Shaandra_ not too long ago. They had held their own and that made her blood sing. Unfortunately, such battles were too far and few, especially with Starfleet ships.

As she stared at the aft of the frigate as it approached the edge of the system, she felt the compulsion to attack, to show her worth as a warrior. To be able to fight these Andorians would be glorious. Though, unlike Kroless before her, she was able to control herself. Attacking the frigate would do nothing except put their mission further into jeopardy.

The voice of the weapons officer distracted her from her musing. "The Earther-" He paused briefly before correcting himself. "The Starfleet vessel is powering up their warp drive," he reported.

"Excellent," she replied. "Helm, pursue at our maximum sensor range. I don't want to risk them noticing us."

"Yes, Captain."

It was time to see where their base of operations was located. She already suspected its location within a four light year radius. It was time to see if she had been accurate in her deduction, based off of transmissions the _London_ had received and sent.

Once she had the location of the sectors primary starbase, they would map out as many Federation colony worlds and patrols as they could find.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her, one that should be obvious, but judging who she had at hand on the bridge, might not be to them. She addressed the helm loudly. "If any large space stations appear on sensors, drop us out of warp and keep our distance. I don't want to risk being detected and space stations have far better sensors than a starship."

"Yes, Captain," the helmsman acknowledged.

T'kinta turned to the tactical officer. "Did you understand also?"

"Yes," he replied.

It was her suspicion that the current weapons officer had been one of those that had been on the side of Kroless. His attitude towards her and his duty did not befit an officer of the Empire. If it didn't change soon, then she would have to discipline him.

That, unfortunately, would require her to think of one. The usual punishment would result in him being unable to perform his duty for a time, and she couldn't afford to lose any more crew members, even if it was only temporarily.

"Starfleet vessel is holding at warp factor six," the helmsman reported.

"Very good," she replied, before rising from her seat. "Inform me of any changes. This includes their course, speed, or if any other ships appear on sensors." She turned to Devuk who sat at communications. "You have the deck."

She promptly left, without waiting for confirmation as to whether he had understood her. Instead of taking the elevator, T'kinta preferred to travel about the ship on foot. Just the concept of an elevator on a battleship seemed ridiculous to her. If one couldn't get around using just their legs, then in her opinion, they didn't belong here and they certainly weren't any kind of warrior.

The captain climbed down the access-way ladder and continued on aft down the long straight corridor that led to the stardrive section of the ship.

It wasn't long until she had arrived at her intended destination in engineering. Morro rose up from where he was sat near the main matter/anti-matter reaction chamber upon her arrival.

"Captain," he said with respect. "The cloak is functioning perfectly. Main core is operational, however, there is still some damage from the earlier battle that still needs attention."

"It will have to wait for the moment," she told him.

"It needs to be seen to eventually," he warned.

"I expect you to do just that," she replied." "Is there a reason you haven't seen to these repairs yet?"

"Some of them will need the warp core to be taken off-line."

T'kinta growled. "That would leave us defenceless and without our cloak," she pointed out.

"If I leave it, then there's the chance we will be made defenceless at an inopportune time."

"Then it is urgent?"

"It will need to be seen to soon. The longer we leave it, the longer it may take to repair."

"I understand," T'kinta accepted. "At the earliest time, I will let you do your work."

"I may have the opportunity sooner, rather than later," he said. It was obvious to her that he was hinting at something.

"Explain."

"We are following a Starfleet vessel, correct?"

T'kinta nodded with affirmation. "We are."

"Do you know where they are headed?"

"I believe they are going to their home base within this sector," she said to him, before adding, "If you have a point, make it. I grow weary of you skirting around whatever it is you are trying to say."

"If that is where we believe the science vessel Kroless destroyed was headed, then wouldn't it be possible to triangulate the base's location without us needing to follow this ship?"

T'kinta smiled. "Interesting," she said. "If both are the same location as my own ideas on where their base may be, then I will give you the time you need to make your repairs."

"That is all I ask, Captain."

"Very well." T'kinta turned and promptly left, making her way forward, back to the bridge. It hadn't been her intention to return there so soon after leaving, however, she couldn't trust those on the bridge to be able to triangulate headings without making a mess of it.

A few minutes later, she was stepping back onto the bridge. The tactical officer turned to her with a slight sneer. "Back so soon?" he said, poorly masking his disdain.

Without responding to his remark, she made her way over to him. "Move," she commanded.

He stepped aside, but not without growling his annoyance at her. Ignoring him once again, she recalled the data logs on where the science vessel Kroless had ordered destroyed was headed before they had detected them. Cross referencing them with the direction the frigate they were following and the transmissions it had sent, she narrowed down the location to a point within a quarter-light year radius.

It was still a huge area, but they would be able to pick up converging warp signatures and if there was a significant object such as a starbase, they would be able to pick that up easily. She was now confident that following the frigate was no longer necessary.

"Helm." Captain T'kinta began, "drop us out of warp."

"Yes, sir," he acknowledged.

The tactical officer frowned at her. "Are we no longer pursuing?" he questioned.

"No need," she replied. "I know where they are going."

"Do you now," he said unconvinced, with an air of disrespect.

T'kinta pounded her forehead into his face hard, causing him to fall to the deck, clutching his bloodied face.

"Learn how to address the master of this vessel properly!" she spat.

Without checking if he was okay, she left him to bleed. The truth was that she didn't care at that moment if he bled to death right there. It would show others not to speak to her as he had.

Loyal officers such as Morro and Devuk were another matter. They had proven themselves to her. She saw them as comrades, as fellow warriors. The importance of their loyalty was amplified by the fact the ship was undermanned. That also made Salyan, their alien physician more important. It was now more imperative to make sure the crew was healthy and could man their stations.

Knowing that she couldn't afford to have the insolent officer injured, she considered calling the doctor, until the man clambered back to his feet and stumbled back to his post, blood staining his forehead where the impact had split the flesh open.

She turned away in disgust at the pitiful sight and stood next to the command chair, activating the intercom that lay on the arm. "Engineer Morro!" she barked into it.

" _Morro here,"_ he replied. Before adding, _"You sound happy, i_ _s everything well?"_

"Not now!" T'kinta snapped at him.

" _Apologies, Captain. Why did you call?"_

"You can make your repairs if you so wish."

" _I'll start at once,"_ he said with clear gratitude.

"Do not take too long," she warned him. "I do not like being defenceless and without warp power."

" _It will be done as quickly as we can, Captain,"_ he reassured her.

"Make sure it is. Bridge out." She closed the channel, before stomping off for the exit. "You are in command again, Devuk."

T'kinta contemplated going to her quarters and resting, but the insolence of her tactical officer frustrated her which had in turn made her feel angry. She needed to vent it, so she decided headed for the ship's gymnasium instead.

Since taking command, she felt as though she'd had less and less time to work out and hone her skills, and more time looking over repair and crew reports, which bored her no end. Working out and training was something she had to keep on top of, or she would risk becoming idle.

She also hoped that increasing her time there would help her keep her anger in check. Head-butting the officer had been a mistake, regardless of how poor his attitude was. She knew that she could have easily accidentally broken his neck or caved in his skull, which was something she couldn't afford right now.

The simple truth was that they couldn't afford any more battles, either from enemy ships or from within. Every death now would have a major effect on the running of the ship. For them to be able to complete their objectives, they needed every last body to be both alive and be able to perform their duties.

It was her own duty to the Empire to see that their mission was a success. If they failed, then it would bring her and her crew dishonour and that she couldn't abide.

T'kinta stepped into the gymnasium, which was separated into several parts. The largest area was for combat training, an area for practising form, an area for lifting weights and so on. She moved directly over to the mat and began practising her moves. From palm strikes to sweeping leg movements, she pushed herself, until her frustration had been replaced by fatigue.

Instead of leaving, however, she moved over to the weights and began to lift, exercising her biceps. She could feel the anger and stress continue to bleed away.

But deep down, no matter how hard she tried, no matter what diversion she participated in, she couldn't forget or forgive herself for killing Wruk.

It would be something that would haunt her forever. There was nothing that could ever relieve the feeling of loss. It was only made worse by the fact that it had been by her own blade that he had met his fate.

The only consolation was that his final words were how her striking him dead would make him proud. Her only hope was that he was looking down at her from the halls of Stovokor and was smiling, that he truly was proud of her. Because she wasn't proud. She hated herself for what she had done and she didn't know if the feeling would ever go away for as long as she lived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Starbase 59, known also as Overwatch, was a large station spanning at over eighteen-hundred metres in width at the widest and nineteen-hundred metres tall it was currently also one of the largest outside the core systems

The terrestrial enclosure, which spanned the upper portion of the station's vast primary hull was the home of Starside residential area as well as sports and other various recreational areas. It also included a small grove of trees, a pond and a substantial amount of grass.

The enclosure itself mimicked the environment of a typical Class-M planet, with a simulated sky that domed over the whole area. In the middle was the central column, that ran from the floor all the way to the top of the dome. The central area was home to a vast mall as well as being a housing for the central power grid, and transport hub.

Well away from Starside, in a cordoned off area, was a large gathering of Starfleet personnel. They were all there for a specific purpose. To commemorate those that had fallen aboard the _U.S.S. Evergreen_ , which had been attacked unprovoked and destroyed by a Klingon vessel.

Commander Saaris, the dark haired and eyed Vulcan, sat alongside her crew-mates, watching the bearded Andorian Admiral, Brax Thalon, as he addressed those in attendance of the funeral service.

What he was saying she didn't know. She wasn't paying him much attention, as she was far too focused on her own internal conflict.

Just a few weeks ago, things had seemed so certain. Her career was solid, being the executive officer and chief of sciences aboard the _Evergreen_. Back then, her logic had been sound and her emotions had been under control. Her life was as she wanted it, as she had carefully crafted it to be.

That had all been stripped away along with the destruction of the ship. As of that moment, her life had become aimless, with no goals for her to attain. Her logic was also now faulty and she struggled to keep her composure due to a brain injury. Her emotions were now much closer to the surface than they had ever been. Those that knew her could see it, and that brought her shame.

Everything now seemed so chaotic, so out of focus. There was no real reason for her to rise in the morning, nor was their any real reason to go to bed at night.

Saaris felt tired, worn down by the recent events. In all honesty, she had had enough. She was seriously contemplating retiring from the service and returning home back to Vulcan. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing left for her in Starfleet. All the worth she had found ended with the destruction of their ship at the hands of barbarians.

Over half the crew had lost their lives, and she had almost been amongst them. Instead of physically dying though, she had in a very real way, died inside her own mind.

Her green pointed ears perked up at the mention of her name. It was now her time to speak. Something she very much wasn't looking forward too.

Slowly, Commander Saaris rose up from where she was sat and made her way over to the dais, where Admiral Thalon stepped down, standing to the side to let her speak.

Stood on the raised podium, the Vulcan stared out into the crowd, feeling an almost foreign sense of stage fright. She closed her eyes for a moment and forced it down, before casting her eyes to the more familiar faces in the group.

First, she laid eyes on the Lieutenant Commander N'renn, who was a member of the feline species known as Caitians. She had been the head of security and weapons aboard the _Evergreen_. Now, almost seemingly by sheer luck of opportunity, she was now the security chief here on Starbase 59. Part of the reassignment had been the promotion from lieutenant to lieutenant commander.

Sat next to her, on her right was Lieutenant Commander Gyreth, who had been the chief engineer of the ill-fated starship. He was a Tellarite and far more than simply competent at his job, he was an extremely skilled engineer. He was fairly gruff, but could also be quite sociable. When he was in a good mood anyway.

Her eyes then drifted to the man that was sat next to him. It was Paul Schaffer, who had been the chief medical officer. He had helped her a lot though most of the hardship she had suffered since the brain injury she had suffered during the destruction of the ship, which had not only affected her emotional control, but she had also discovered later that she had lost her sense of smell completely.

Over the last few days, she had been avoiding Schaffer. The reason why? She herself didn't really understand. All she knew, is that she had to get away from him for a while.

It suddenly dawned on her that she had been stood there for a few minutes staring and many in the audience were exchanging looks of concern and whispers amongst themselves.

She cleared her throat before she began to speak. "For the last few years, the majority of us have been working together. We have seen and observed things that many could only imagine. We shared these experiences in the hopes that we could better the understanding of not just ourselves, but of everything and for everyone."

Saaris took another look across those before her. Lieutenant Bridges had his eyes downcast to the floor. He had lost many people close to him, as well as a young ensign that he had been very fond of. Next to him sat Lieutenant Kinkaid, who had been one of her best science officers. He stared at her with puffy eyes. He too had lost friends, as had all of them. The look of sorrow on their faces, brought up a heavy feeling in her stomach. A huge sense of loss.

Closing her eyes for a few moments, she continued, "All we aspired to do was explore. To perhaps even make friends with races yet to be discovered. Today, we commemorate those that died, because they wanted to know more about the universe. We appreciate their sacrifice, even if it was senseless, because it was due to them, that our knowledge is greater today than it was yesterday. For that, we will be eternally grateful." She bowed her head as the feeling of hate began to brew inside her. "But that was taken from us," she said with closed eyes. "Torn from us by barbarians who want nothing more than to kill."

She stopped and looked up at the shocked faces. She had taken it too far, allowed her emotions to run free. She couldn't do this, she couldn't stand here any longer and face them "Thank you," she managed to get out before she stepped away from the podium.

With that, the speeches were finished. Now came the part where they were all supposed to mingle, to talk about life aboard the _Evergreen_ , to chat about those that had been lost to them. Saaris didn't want to do any of that. So instead, she left the gathering behind and headed towards the central column.

She wanted to be alone, not feigning interest in this charade. The ship was gone and so were so many good people. All this so-called funeral did, at least in her mind, was needlessly prolong that which should have already been left in the past.

Upon entering the central column, she made her way to the nearest turbo-car. Once the doors had slid closed and she was out of sight, she let out a heavy sigh, before rubbing the tears that had started to form out of her eyes.

After taking several long deep breaths, she gripped the control handle and gave the computer her destination.

* * *

Doctor Paul Schaffer watched Saaris go, with a deep sense of sorrow and regret. He felt like it was his fault that she had become so distant, so detached from him and the others.

It was only now that he realised that while he had thought he was being supportive of her, throughout her healing process, that he was really just being a nuisance.

His constant presence hadn't been needed, nor had it been warranted. Often, she had even told him that his presence wasn't needed, but he had chosen to ignore her, believing that she did need him. The truth was, that is was he who needed her.

Now, he had driven her away due to his overbearing nature, since she had awakened on the planet. He smiled sadly when he could almost hear her correcting him, as it wasn't a planet, it was a moon. A large moon with a breathable atmosphere, that had orbited a putrid brown gas super-giant.

"Everything alright, Doctor?"

He looked around to see N'reinn stood beside him, a worried frown crossing her golden brown feline features.

Schaffer sighed. "I'm worried about Saaris," he said, casting his gaze back towards the central column.

"We all are," she said. "You've just got to give her some time and space."

"Yeah," he sighed, not sure if it was already too late for that.

"Even Vulcans aren't immune to tragedy," she told him.

"No, but they're usually better at hiding it," he commented.

"Just give her some time," the Caitian repeated. She rested a reassuring pawed hand on his shoulder. "You should be mingling with the crew. This might be the last chance you ever get to see them all-" She paused, taking in a sharp breath. "This might be the last chance you get to see those that are left altogether in one place."

Schaffer looked past her into the crowd of people. "I'm not really sure I can," he told her. "I feel that all this needs to be put behind me. Not prolonged and certainly not celebrated."

"It will be," she assured him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Just mingle for the next hour or so. It'll do you good."

"I'm not sure it will."

"Everyone on that ship knew you to some extent," she said to him, not letting it go. "Some of them might want to talk to you one last time. As the saying goes, if not for you, then for them."

He rubbed his eyes, before nodding with reluctant agreement. "Perhaps you're right," he accepted, with reservation.

"Come on, let's go talk to some of the crew."

* * *

Commander Saaris, if she could even call herself a commander anymore, stepped into her assigned quarters. She quickly made her way into the bedroom area, where she laid herself down on the bed.

With her fingers webbed and her index digits pointed towards her chin, she closed her eyes and concentrated solely on the soft thrum of the station.

Slowly, with some effort, her mind began to clear, as did her mood. She no longer wished to dwell upon what had happened, to remember the faces of those that were now dead.

She didn't want to hate those responsible for their deaths, yet she did. For the Klingons, she dwelt on them with both bile and hatred. She wanted to grab the Klingon captain by the throat and squeeze until their oesophagus collapsed and they suffocated to death.

It wasn't the Vulcan way to think or feel such things. Or at the very least, it hadn't been for millennia. What she felt was decidedly more Romulan, decidedly more vicious.

She pondered on whether she was now indistinguishable from their cousins. After all, they had discovered that the Romulans were simply Vulcans who had rejected Surak's teachings and instead had opted to leave the Vulcan homeworld in a great exodus in primitive spacefaring vessels.

It had been assumed that they had all perished. In fact, when a Vulcan ship had first observed life on Earth, the had assumed that they might have been those that had fled. It hadn't taken long for them discover that they weren't and this was a few centuries before the supposed first contact with Zefram Cochrane, when they had detected the warp signature in the Sol system.

It was a good thing that they had, or else there might never have been a Federation and her people might have been in the middle of a war with the Andorians or Romulans or even the Klingons at that moment.

The Klingons were warmongers, who seemed to only care about the next great battle, the next great campaign. They only thought about their next conquest and subjugation, where they could slaughter their enemies in some glorious battle.

If they kept it all amongst themselves, within the borders of their Empire, then it wouldn't have been an issue. Instead, they forced their foul ancient barbarism onto every race they came into contact with.

How they had ever achieved space travel was a huge mystery to her. Some of them must have devoted their time to science. By the very fact that they still constructed newer more advanced warships meant that some of them still had to devout themselves somewhat to science and engineering. Even if the end goal was just to find new and easier ways of killing people.

She found their culture to be vile and repugnant. She had for a long time. It had only been recently however, that she had felt her revulsion with such power. They had caused to be unable to control the things she now felt without restraint. Her injury disturbed her mind and her soul.

Saaris hated them for it. She despised the torment that she now had to endure because of their unwarranted attack on the _Evergreen_. The hate for them was something she didn't want to feel, but all attempts to subdue her emotions were met with frustratingly little success.

Still, she attempted to meditate, as she had done when she had first entered her quarters before he mind had begun to wander. The Vulcan tried to force all thoughts out of her mind and to put all her focus onto the gentle thrum of the station and her own breathing.

Once again, her meditation failed as she grew fatigued and she gave up. She simply lay there on her back with her eyes closed until she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He wasn't having a good time. Paul Schaffer put on a fake smile and tried to make the best of it. N'reinn had been right, it was the right thing to be here for the rest of the crew, to offer them emotional support, even if he himself was suffering through it.

With every face he saw, he knew there was another face that he would never see again. Like Charlie and Jeff the lab technicians, or Casey and Sam who he always saw together in the mess hall, to name only a few. It simply wasn't fair that their lives had ended so prematurely. There was a lot of hope and promise of a future, but now it was gone, snatched away.

Space was dangerous, they all knew that. It didn't make it any easier.

When the crowd began to disperse, Schaffer used it as an excuse to slip away himself. He headed to the central column where he found a bar. He wasn't interested in drinking himself into a stupor, but he needed some place social, but that was away from familiar faces.

He sat down on a stool the by the bar and ordered a brandy. With it in hand, he sipped it slowly while taking in the ambience. All he wanted to do was to forget, at least for a few hours.

Eventually, Paul had emptied the glass and he decided to call it a day. Despite it being only the afternoon here on the station, he had just had enough. He just wanted today to be over, he just wanted to move on from this.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to. He just couldn't get the faces of those that had died out of his head. He had spent his whole life in Starfleet, but being assigned to science vessels primarily, he had never experienced death as he had now, not with so many in one single attack.

Paul knew as a doctor he should be used to it. He knew that it should be part of the job. Being in the fleet meant he didn't get many old people close to the ends of their lives, nor did he usually get really sick people. Being on a science vessel meant that injuries or deaths due to combat were so rare that they were pretty much non-existent.

Soon, Paul had arrived at his quarters. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed, not bothering to take off his dress uniform. He lay there unable to sleep, just staring up at the dark ceiling.

He wondered where he went from here? Did he simply accept whatever posting came his way, or did he quit the service?

Honestly, he didn't know and right now he didn't really care. Most likely he would take whatever they offered and maybe it would be far away from here, far away from Saaris.

Maybe that's what he needed. A fresh start with no familiar faces from the past.

Or more likely he didn't know what he wanted nor what he needed. He needed to sort out his own thoughts before making any decisions on anything and right now, the lack of sleep and the stress was making it difficult to think clearly.

All Paul Schaffer could hope was that with time came clarity. Right now nothing made any sense and it seemed almost surreal. The unfortunate truth, however, was that it was most definitely real.

Deciding he needed a distraction from his thoughts, he climbed back out of bed and put on his boots. Maybe a walk would do him some good.

He doubted it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It had been around four hours since the funeral service had wrapped up and now with the _U.S.S. London_ docked inside the station the security chief, Lieutenant Commander Kceris N'reinn, had volunteered to escort the captain and first officer to the admiral's office.

Her reason for volunteering for this seemingly mundane task was that the _London's_ first officer, a Commander Arie Cayman was an old friend from the academy and their first assignment. They hadn't seen each other, nor had they spoken in a few years. Something that N'reinn would correct today.

She was looking forward to it, even though there wouldn't be much of an opportunity to chat, or reminisce about the good old days. At least not before the meeting with Admiral Thalon. Even then, she might not get a chance afterwards, as she didn't know whether they were going to be sent straight back out.

Still, she didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to see her again, even if it would be brief. Of course, she would keep it professional, as she was currently on duty, as was Arie.

"Captain Anthi and Commander Cayman are ready to beam over, Commander," the transporter operator informed her.

"Understood," she acknowledged. "You can bring them over now."

"Yes, sir." Not a moment later, he was operating the controls.

N'reinn stood ready as two beams shimmered on the pad, and began to form and coalesce into people. One was the Andorian captain, the other her human friend.

The Caitian smiled at her friend, only to find her stood there with a heavy frown. Her eyes were cast forward, not paying attention to her, or seemingly anything else in the room.

Quickly, N'reinn composed herself as she addressed the Andorian. "Captain Anthi, Commander Cayman, I'm Lieutenant Commander N'reinn." She quickly glanced at Arie's face, to see if the name spurred any kind of recognition. Her friend was still stood staring at the wall. It appeared, judging by her expression and body language, that she had something else on her mind. Something that was taking up all of her attention.

Anthi nodded curtly. "If you'll please escort us to the admiral's office, Lieutenant Commander."

"Of course, if you'll follow me. It's this way."

N'reinn made her way to the door, followed by Anthi, then after a moment Arie, who seemed to garner a little more awareness of where she was. Still, however, she didn't seem to recognise her.

The Caitian couldn't help but feel a little dejected over it. She had been so looking forward to seeing her friend again, only she didn't seem to have any idea as to who she was.

She led them along the circular corridor, before they entered the large operations centre, on the control room's second tier. They then headed up a set of steps and through a set of doors into Yeoman Rialtan's office, which acted as a foyer of sorts to the admiral's office.

Yeoman Rialtan, the lizard-like Saurian was sat behind his desk. He looked up at them, with his rigid expressionless face.

"Captain Anthi and Commander Cayman are here to see the admiral," N'reinn informed him.

Without wasting a moment, the yeoman relayed the message to Admiral Thalon, who promptly let the two officers in.

N'reinn turned and left, heading back into the operations centre, where she made her way down to the tactical station.

Usually on a starbase this size, tactical and security were separate, however, due to the fact there was still a shortage of personnel in some areas, it turned out that she was one of only three that was actually qualified to man the station, the other two being on the other duty shifts.

There had been a few meetings on the matter with Admiral Thalon and Commander Gessi. They had discussed her being security chief and Lieutenant Xern for the role of tactical. It had to be that way, as only a Lieutenant Commander could be security chief aboard a station this size.

They had agreed to let him prove himself to see if he could manage, but that would wait till he was back on duty. He had recently lost someone in his close family, and it had hit him pretty hard. As such he had been given time off to recover.

N'reinn relieved the junior-grade lieutenant that was manning the tactical station before she sat herself down. The station was pretty much identical to how it had been on the _Evergreen_ , only the weapons had a lot more power potential. Almost by a factor of six. If anyone tried attacking, then they would be in serious trouble.

As she sat there clicking away, her mind began to wander onto her old friend Arie and how she hadn't recognised her. It really bothered her, especially since they'd been best friends at the academy and nigh on inseparable.

Had they departed on bad terms and she had forgotten? She couldn't really recall them ever falling out. At least not without quickly making amends for it soon afterwards. Was it possible that she had somehow managed to get the wrong sister? She seriously doubted that as Arie's sister Mira was three years younger and hadn't joined the academy.

It had to be something else. Perhaps the _London_ had come into contact with something at some point that had affected her memory? Considering what was out there, that was entirely possible.

No matter what the reason was, it had upset her and made what she had hoped was going to be a happy reunion, utterly meaningless. Maybe she had just been preoccupied and simply failed to notice her? She desperately hoped that was the reason and nothing else.

Whatever the reason, she would make it her mission to have the reunion and even a drink down in the residential area when they were both off-duty. She could only hope they would have the opportunity.

* * *

Admiral Thalon watched as the two officers stepped into his office.

He had read all of the reports they had sent while investigating the destruction of the colonies on Corvin and it had been most distressing.

Now, it was time to discuss the destruction they had seen at the colony world. He wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but it was something that was required for his report.

Thalon leant forwards in his chair, webbing his blue fingers. "Last report, you didn't have any leads. Has that changed?" he questioned.

Captain Anthi replied. "Unfortunately, no. The only lead we have is that the energy weapons we detected appeared primitive energy weapons and were of unfamiliar origin."

"We believe that we've caught someone's attention out here," Commander Cayman continued. "They may be aggressors, or they might be concerned about our expansion. Without having any contact with them, it's hard to tell."

"So you think it's someone we haven't met yet?" Thalon inquired.

"Likely, but not enough evidence," Anthi told him. "Whoever it was, didn't waste any time obliterating every settlement on the surface."

Arie Cayman continued, "And whether that unidentified vessel that was reported to be parked outside the limits of the capital settlement had anything to do with it, we just don't know. It might be a coincidence. It might not."

"Though at this point," Anthi carried on. "I'm willing to bet that it did. As to where the attackers went, we don't know. The warp trail had already decayed."

"But, that is just an assumption on our part," Arie said. "It could be that it was someone else and that the unknown ship was destroyed with the rest of the colonies on the surface."

Thalon thought for a moment. "They must have left the system at a low warp factor for their trail to decay so quickly."

"Yes, that was our conclusion as well," Taria agreed. "Unfortunately, we picked up almost nothing, which is quite unusual."

"Perhaps they never left the system?" Thalon suggested.

"That is one of the possibilities we entertained," Arie said. "The problem is, that there are twenty-four large planetary bodies within that system.

"There was no way we could search all of them efficiently," Anthi concluded. "While we searched, they could move into orbit of a planet we had already scanned."

"Wouldn't your sensors detect them?"

"It depends," Anthi said. "They could fire their engines while using a planet to mask it. Then simply coast to another planet. They could also use the star to shield them from sensors by keeping it between us. It would be tricky, but possible."

"Still, it's all all speculation," Arie said. "We simply don't know their motives, or how they eluded us."

Thalon pulled down on his uniform shirt as he leant back in his chair. "It's disheartening to hear that," Thalon mused. "The only good news is that more ships are being sent to this sector. Between reports of Orion pirates, the Klingons and whoever attacked Corvin, it looks like life here isn't going to be easy."

"Never is," Anthi said. "But the Federation is built on peace and cooperation. We will still offer an open hand and if they swat it away, then we'll give them a bloody nose."

"We need to find them first," Thalon said.

"That's the hard part," Anthi mused. "And once we do, they better have some answers ready."

Thalon nodded. "That will all be dealt with when the time comes. You have a few days until you're scheduled to head out again. I suggest you use those days to clear your head of what's happened."

"Don't worry," Anthi assured him. "We plan on taking it easy, don't we commander."

"Yes, sir," Arie confirmed.

"I suspect you will have some catching up to do, Commander Cayman," Thalon said.

Arie gave him a funny look. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Kceris N'reinn," Thalon said with a frown.

"Wait, Kceris is here?" Arie said in surprise.

"Of course. She's the one who escorted you here. Didn't you know?"

"She did?" Arie rested her head in her hands out of embarrassment. "I must have seemed like a complete ignoramus," she muttered.

"You didn't know it was her?" Thalon asked, disbelieving.

"I've had a lot on my mind," she said. "Personal stuff."

Thalon couldn't help but smirk. "Well, she's off duty at eighteen-hundred. Go find her then."

"I will and thank you, sir."

"You are both dismissed."

* * *

Lieutenant Commander N'reinn watched as Captain Anthi and her friend Arie left the admiral's office and made their way to the turbolift.

It really bothered the Caitian that Arie hadn't recognised her. It was as though their time together at the academy and at their first posting aboard the _Defiant_ meant nothing.

Maybe arrogance had come with the rank of commander and she no longer had time for a security chief of some space station. Or maybe she simply couldn't remember her.

N'reinn turned her attention back to her station. She was currently running a diagnostic on the upper phaser banks, which had only just been brought up to full operational condition within the last day. She wanted to do an actual live firing test at some point, however, she had yet to get permission from the station commander.

Regardless of when she finally got to do the tests, she was absolutely sure that the phasers would pass any tests put to them. The diagnostics thus far had all been positive, which was good and what she had expected.

She glanced around at Commander Gessi, who was currently in command of the operations centre. When she had first met him, she had sensed a level of hostility directed at her from him. That had vanished over the past week, as they had gotten to know each other better.

N'reinn knew that some of that hostility could be put down to the vast amount of hours he had been working due to the lack of personnel. While they still didn't have every role filled, it certainly was a lot better than it had been before she had arrived.

A small chime indicated that the diagnostic was complete. She turned her attention back to her console, seeing that once again the results were just as she had expected. The phaser banks checked out.

With that out of the way once again, it was time to start simulations. They weren't as reliable as a physical test, but they would have to suffice for now.

* * *

Doctor Paul Schaffer stood outside Saaris' assigned quarters. He wanted to press down the doorbell. He wanted to talk to her, but he just couldn't garner the courage. Instead, he remained there, wondering how it was that he had managed to drive her away.

For the longest time, their "relationship" had been rather one sided. He found her to be intelligent, beautiful and fiercely independent. These were all qualities he admired. Yet she had never shown any interest in him. He felt that she saw him only as a comrade, just another officer aboard the ship.

That had all changed when she had awoken from her injury. At least it had done for a time. They had shared a bond, a melding of the minds and she had shown, rather uncharacteristically, gratefulness for the aid he had given her, for helping her awaken from the coma she had been in.

For the next week, they had remained close. Or perhaps rather he hadn't left her side. Maybe that was the problem. It was possible that in her eyes he had been a pest. He hadn't given her space when he should have done. He had hung around, outstaying his welcome and now she was avoiding him because of it.

Perhaps it was a good thing. She needed to sort through things herself. Vulcans were a very personal species that enjoyed their time in solitude. She needed time to heal and he needed to give it to her.

But the speech she had given at the funeral had been far from what he would have expected her to say. That worried him. She was showing emotion when before she would have remained composed.

Schaffer closed his eyes tightly shut and inhaled deeply. He released it before he turned and left. Standing outside her quarters would do little to change what had happened between them. If anything, if he was caught it would exacerbate things.

At least he still had his medical staff to talk to. While they weren't technically his anymore considering they had no ship, he still felt responsible for them.

He knew he would miss them when they got their new assignments. He had already been informed that two nurses were being transferred, Jonathan and Carla. They were good at their jobs and he was sure they would do well wherever they ended up.

It was a shame that he would probably lose some if not all of them. They worked well together, better than he could ever have asked for. But life went on, people moved on, both it and they always did.

The doctor stepped into his assigned quarters and made his way into the bedroom and over to the bed where he sprawled out on it. He hated having all this free time with little to do. It was tedious beyond belief.

Right now he was waiting for Starfleet to give him his next assignment, which would probably be away from here, away from Saaris. But there wasn't much he could do about it. He was in Starfleet and he had to go where they pointed.

Until then, he would have to find something to do. Sitting around or standing outside of Saaris' quarters like a creeper simply wasn't cutting it.

There was plenty of time to find that something and the search itself would be something to do.

That could wait until later, though. Right now he wasn't feeling up to it.

* * *

Saaris had felt his presence outside of her quarters and despite the fact she was avoiding him, she took some comfort in it.

It felt strange to her when she thought about how much her life had changed recently. Her daily routine was now completely foreign to what she was used to. She didn't have bridge duty, nor access to a science lab, at least not in the capacity she was both used to or satisfied with. She was used to being the head of that department. Now, she was simply a guest and she found it rather unsettling.

All of that paled, however, when compared the unrestrained emotions she now felt. Saaris was putting some serious thought into retiring and returning back to Vulcan to take the Kholinar.

While she knew that there was little chance that she could actually attain it, the extra training would, or rather should prove beneficial. As it was, she found herself struggling to maintain her composure and it was affecting her interactions with others and also her ability to function in a public space.

People were beginning to scare her, or rather the thought of interacting with others gave her severe apprehension. The opinion others had regarding her were starting to matter to her on a deep emotional level and she found herself avoiding conversation so that she didn't say something that could make her a social outcast.

It was at such a point that she had started researching the symptoms. She had discovered that somehow she had developed a form of social phobia. It was frustrating because she didn't know why or what the reason for it was.

Saaris, who had been sat, eyes closed and cross-legged at the end of her bed, finally decided it was time to give up her attempts at meditation. These days her mind tended to wander, destroying what little progress she had managed to achieve.

She lowered her legs off the end of the bed and pushed herself up onto her feet. She was restless and needed to go for a walk. She also knew that she had been spending too much time in here doing very little. Right now, she was little more than a Dunsel with no purpose.

Saaris stepped out into the corridor, briefly pausing before continuing on. She didn't have a destination in mind, instead, she would go wherever it was she ended up. Unlike a starship, however, where there was limited space, the station was huge and she knew she could easily get quite lost.

The Vulcan made a mental note to avoid the maze-like lower levels and instead head down to the environmental enclosure. She knew there would be a lot of people down there, but there was also a sense of space and fresh air that she felt she needed. Besides, she had to face her fear if she were to ever conquer it. Meditation so far had done very little to help. So it was really all she had left, to go out and face the problem head-on.

The honest truth was that she had always been unsettled by large groups. In the past, though, her emotions and fears had all been suppressed and under control. It was not logical to be afraid of crowds, yet she was, especially now that her emotions were out of control.

Saaris stepped into an empty turbocar and gripped the control handle and twisted it. "Environmental enclosure," she commanded.

The doors slid shut and the elevator began to descend downwards. A short span of time later, the turbo-lift came to a halt and the doors opened allowing two more passengers on.

She pretended to pay them no attention as the off-duty crewmen gave the computer their destination, which was also the enclosure.

Unfortunately for her, the other two decided to try and initiate small talk with her.

"So, which department are you with?" the tall one with brown hair and near black eyes asked.

Saaris was out of her now-defunct uniform and was instead wearing plain grey clothes that while weren't form fitting, weren't loose either.

"I am not station personnel," she replied, trying to keep her voice as emotionally neutral as she could.

"You're not?" the other man asked, who had longer, near regulation-limit length blond hair. "You come in with the _London_?"

"No, I was with the _Evergreen_ ," she informed them, as she clasped her hands together tightly behind her back.

"The ship that was destroyed by the Klingons?" the blond asked.

The dark haired one responded in her stead, which she was grateful for. "Yeah, I heard about that. Sounds pretty horrific. Not something I'd want to happen to me."

"It is not an event I wanted to occur either," she told them, a slight quiver in her voice. "Nevertheless it happened anyway."

"Never said you did," the dark haired man said.

"No you did not," she agreed, starting to feel both fear and annoyance start to grow within her.

"No," he repeated. "Anyway, did you get a new assignment yet?"

Saaris, who had been keeping her gaze forward on the doors looked at him. "Not yet," she replied. She could never understand Human's need for small talk. It was both bothersome and unwanted.

"So," the blond man continued, "what did you do on that ship?"

"I was the executive officer," she responded.

With that, the turbo-lift came to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal the mall, which was located in the central column that was surrounded by the enclosure.

She stepped out, closely followed by the two young men.

"Fancy going for a drink?" the dark haired one asked.

Without looking at them, she replied. "Vulcans do not drink."

"Fruit juice then?"

Saaris paused and turned to face them. "Thank you for the offer, but no. I am-" she hesitated for a few moments. "I am taken, as it were," she said finally.

"Say no more," the blond said. "We'll let you get on with whatever you're doing."

She tipped her head in half a nod, before continuing on down the mall, doing her best to ignore the crowd as she exited out into the giant enclosure.

Unlike Earth or Tellar, which there was plenty of similarities too, this place was absolutely nothing like home. Vulcan was mostly desert. The only oases that existed were artificial, the rest was a planet-wide scar. But that wasn't how it had always been. Once upon a time, her homeworld was more like Earths equatorial regions, Vulcans own equator being arid like much of the surface was like today.

Nuclear war had seen the end of what had once been a beautiful world and they were responsible for more species going extinct on Vulcan than Humans could ever hope to achieve on Earth. It was why they had needed to subdue their emotions because their base nature was barbaric.

It was speculated that one day the planet might actually recover. But that hadn't happened yet, nor had it really shown signs that it had even begun. Even so, regardless of whether the enclosure was like Vulcan or not, she found that it was pleasing to the eye and to her sense of smell.

Saaris continued forward, heading away from the mall down a path that was surrounded by grass on both sides. A group of children ran past, laughing and shouting. She had to force herself not to smile, which was easy because of the sense of shame that came with it.

Before the brain trauma, the smile would have purely been mental, hidden away inside her own head. At no point would she have been worried that she might show emotion externally. Now she had to fight it constantly. She knew she would have to remain vigilant, especially around other species who showed their emotions clearly on their faces.

Though perhaps emotion wasn't such a bad thing. Thus far she had felt fear, slight annoyance, unease and just now amusement. None of the malice or rage that all Vulcans feared lay deep within them. Then again she should still remain vigilant. Her emotions could easily run away with her and get out of hand if left unchecked. All she had to do was look at the Romulans to see what her people would be like with uncontrolled emotion, which was hostile, xenophobic and warlike.

The Vulcan put it all out of her mind and focused on the sights, smells and sounds of the enclosure.

Overall she found the experience to be quite pleasant.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Kceris N'reinn stepped out of the turbo-lift with Lieutenant Rivera as the two made their way towards their their quarters.

Their duty shifts in the Operations Centre was over and they had both decided to call it an early night. Rivera because she had already been awake for the last eighteen hours and N'reinn because she was feeling depressed over the lack of recognition from Arie, who she had thought was a friend.

After saying goodnight to the lieutenant, N'reinn stepped into her own quarters. If there was one thing she could say was a benefit to being stationed on a starbase it was that the rooms were a lot larger than those on a ship. It was almost like a small apartment, except without a kitchen area.

N'reinn sat at her desk, catching her reflection in the mirror on her dresser in the other room. Did she really look that different from when she had last seen Arie? No that couldn't be it. After all, she had greeted them by telling them her name.

The sad truth was that either Arie truly didn't remember her or didn't want to remember her.

The last time they had seen each other, they had both been serving on the _Defiant_. That ship has been lost with all hands, along with those they had known that still served aboard her.

The official story was that it had been destroyed by the Tholians in territory they had recently claimed. She knew that wasn't quite the truth. For one thing, she had looked into it, only to find a lot of it was classified. She would need very high-security clearance just to have a look. This struck her as odd. It still to this day struck her as odd.

A buzzing at her door brought her out of her reverie. She rose up slowly from where she sat and made her way over to the door, wondering who it could be.

N'reinn pressed the button that lay to the right of the door and it slid open, revealing, much to her surprise, her white-haired, pale skinned friend Arie, albeit the surprise was definitely a pleasant one.

"Um, hey," her friend said with a small wave. Her face fell. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier. I was distracted and I just didn't realise it was you."

"I'll say," she said, her joy starting to turn into anger. "To not recognise me? I don't know whether to feel angry, insulted or be upset."

"I'm sorry," Arie repeated earnestly. "I feel awful, I really do. If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have ignored you. I'm sorry."

N'reinn folded her arms. "I forgive you, I suppose."

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "Can I come in?"

The Caitian stepped aside. "Sure," she said.

Arie stepped inside, taking a quick look around the room. N'reinn moved further into the room, the doors sliding shut behind her.

"Nice place," Arie commented.

"It came with the job," the Caitian told her. "A perk of being stationed on a starbase."

"I heard about what happened to the _Evergreen_ ," Arie said sympathetically.

"Hear about that before or after you discovered I was here?" N'reinn questioned bitterly.

"After," she replied quickly. "Listen, I feel that I have to explain myself." Arie gestured to the small couch. "May I sit?"

N'reinn thought for a moment, wondering if she should refuse out of spite. Instead, she agreed. "Sure."

Arie sat down while the Caitian remained standing. Arie began, "A few hours ago, just before we docked, I received a message from Joshua."

N'reinn leant her shoulder against the wall her arms folded. "That's your adoptive father, right?"

"Yes," Arie confirmed. "I haven't heard from him since I left to join Starfleet Academy."

"Your choice as I recall," the Caitian pointed out.

"Yes, it was my choice."

"Must be strange seeing his face again after all these years," N'reinn commented,

"Yes, it was," Arie said. "It brought up some feelings I didn't know I had. I regret it. I regret that I haven't tried to contact them. I haven't even tried to contact my sister."

"You had a pretty big falling out if I remember correctly."

"We did," Arie confirmed. "I was so angry that I decided to just leave and follow my dream, not what they wanted me to do."

"Haven't they tried to get in contact with you before?" N'reinn inquired.

"Initially, yes," Arie said, rubbing her eyes. "I ignored them and they eventually stopped trying." Arie looked over at her friend. "When I received the message I didn't bother to even check who it was from. I just played it. When I saw his face there on the monitor screen I just couldn't believe it."

"What did he want?"

"I'm not sure," Arie said. "I just stared at his image, not really taking in anything he was saying and I haven't re-watched it yet."

"Maybe you should," N'reinn suggested. "Could be important."

"Maybe," Arie said hesitantly. "But enough of that. We have some catching up to do. So, what's been happening with you?"

"Not much to tell to be honest," N'reinn said with a slight shrug. "Up until recently, I was just a lieutenant."

"Rank isn't everything," her friend told her.

"I bet you didn't think that when you were promoted to the rank of commander and given the position of executive officer of a ship."

"No," Arie conceded. "It has been the highlight of my career. But I was lucky. I got the right assignments as security officer aboard cruisers and frigates."

"Whereas I found myself as security chief on a science vessel," N'reinn said. "Apart from drills, I near enough did nothing on that ship. Sure, once or twice we encountered someone who wasn't friendly, but that was so rare it was of little to no consequence on my career. I hit a dead end. I thought I'd still be a lieutenant at the end of my career."

"But you're a lieutenant commander now," Arie pointed out.

The Caitian looked down at her feet. "Yes and all it took was the loss of our ship, our captain and too many friends."

"I'm sorry," Arie offered, standing up. "I'm sorry about what happened to your ship and I'm also sorry that we lost contact with one another."

"You were busy with your career," N'reinn mused.

"I wasn't working on it all the time," Arie told her. "I had plenty of time to contact you. Hell, I had plenty of time to contact my sis and even Joshua and Olivia." She sighed, taking another look around the room. "The _London_ became my home and I forgot that I have friends and family beyond its hull."

N'reinn stepped forward and the two embraced in a hug. The two stood there for several moments before separating.

"It's good to see you again," N'reinn said. "Pity about Eddie."

"I heard about _Defiant_ ," Arie said. "Was Eddie still assigned to her?"

"Yes he was," N'reinn confirmed. "He had moved from security to engineering. Turned out it was his true calling."

"I miss him," Arie lamented. "He was an absolute blast when we were back at the academy. A real fun guy to be around."

N'reinn smirked. "Even when he was trying to get into your pants?"

"If I recall he tried getting into yours too," Arie shot back.

"Yeah, too bad I'm not into humans," the Caitian chuckled.

"Have you ever been with one?" Arie questioned.

"No, but I don't need too to know I'm not into they're not for me."

"If I remember right, there was that other Caitian guy. What was his name?"

N'reinn looked away. "P'artenn," she replied glumly.

Arie bit her bottom lip as she realised she had brought up an uncomfortable subject. "Right, sorry I forgot."

"It's fine," N'reinn said, trying to dismiss the regret she still felt.

N'reinn and P'artenn had left Ferasa together with the promise that they either both got into the academy, or neither would. It was an easy promise to make until it was her that was accepted and he wasn't. She took the chance and at first their relationship seemed fine. However, it soon became clear that he wasn't. One day he was gone. He had left her without a word. To this day she didn't know what had happened to him or where he had gone.

It still hurt when she thought about him. That's why she tried not to.

"You should send a reply to Joshua," N'reinn told her friend. "Don't let it be a regret later."

Arie began to nod slowly. "You're right. I miss him. I miss my sister. I'm the only blood family she has left and I feel like I abandoned her."

"You never speak about what happened to you on Tarsus IV," N'reinn said.

"No," Arie said solemnly. "It was a long time ago. I don't think about it anymore."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up unhappy memories."

"It's okay. I don't even remember that much, I was only six or seven at the time. All I know is that everyone in my family except me and my little sister is dead."

N'reinn wasn't sure whether she was being honest about not remembering, or if she was saying that because she didn't want to remember. Regardless, N'reinn decided it would be best if she left it alone. It had been many years since they had seen each other and it was clear that they weren't as comfortable with each other has they once were.

"How long is the _London_ going to be in dock?" N'reinn asked, keeping the conversation going to stop any long uncomfortable pauses.

"For the next few days," Arie replied.

"Okay, how's this. When I get off duty tomorrow, you and me have a night on the town like we used to have back during our academy days?"

Arie smiled widely. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Excellent," N'reinn said overjoyed. "We'll be able to catch up on things."

"Yes we will. Well, you look tired, so I better be heading off." Arie stood up and N'reinn walked with her to the door.

"It'll be just like the old days," N'reinn said.

"I hope so," Arie replied as the doors slid open.  
"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, you will." The two gave each other a quick hug before Arie stepped out into the corridor. The doors slid shut behind her and N'reinn made her way back to her desk, a huge smile plastered across her feline face.

It was really nice to see her friend again. N'reinn couldn't wait to get off duty tomorrow evening. Perhaps there would also be time to introduce her to some of her shipmates before Arie headed off again, Of course, she wouldn't be doing that tomorrow. That time was for her and her old friend.

* * *

Commander Alvise Gessi had just finished telling Thalon about what things had been like over the last month or so here on the station. While the Andorian admiral had read the reports, actually hearing it gave him a fresh perspective.

Things hadn't been easy up until now and there were still plenty of things that weren't even close to being up to standard.

They were both sat in the officer's lounge, talking over their evening meal. Thalon was hoping he would get the chance to sit down and have a chat with al of his senior officers at some point in the near future. So far, he had only had the chance to talk to N'reinn and now Gessi. He knew it he wanted to speak to the others in such a casual setting, he would have to actively set time aside for it.

"I have to say," Gessi continued on, "This has definitely been a different experience than the one I had at Starbase 1."

"Was it busy there?" Thalon inquired. "I imagine it was."

"Yes, very busy," Gessi confirmed. "But the work was more evenly spread out. We had the staff to deal with it. Overwatch has only recently started to get the personnel required to run it."

"It's certainly getting better," Thalon agreed. "A few more ships are on their way to drop off personnel. Before we know it, we'll have everyone we need."

"It can't come soon enough," Gessi said.

Thalon nodded in agreement. "I would have expected the station to have been fully staffed before civilians were even allowed aboard. Seems like an unnecessary risk to me."

"I completely agree, sir, it was an unnecessary risk. Not only were we understaffed, we didn't even have industrial fabricators, which are mandatory on a starbase this size."

"Which troubles me," Thalon said. "I thought they were used in the construction of the station?"

Gessi nodded. "They are. We had ones that were brought by a tug and assembled in space."

"I see," Thalon said in understanding. "They wouldn't fit inside the station, I assume?"

"That's correct, sir. They were assembled when construction began and then disassembled after work had been completed. Or at least to a degree where they were no longer needed."

"I'm just glad we have some fabricators now," Thalon said.

"I'm sure Commander Varr is pleased because it means he'll be able to finish off the lower maintenance and cargo section, which were missing bulkheads and safety measures."

Thalon nodded grimly. "The report stated that there were areas that weren't pressurised and sections neighbouring them had no forcefield emitters."

"I'm sure Varr's people feel safer once they have the forcefields emitters installed."

"They shouldn't have to work in those sections if all the safeguards weren't in place. It's irresponsible," Thalon said angrily.

"I agree," Gessi said. "But they are being installed as we speak."

"Once the safeguards are in place and all the sections are pressurised, then I'll be happy."

"It'll make me happy as well, sir."

Thalon nodded as he stood up. "We've been chatting for quite a while, I won't keep you any longer, Commander."

"Okay, sir, have a good evening."

"You too, Commander." Thalon turned and left the lounge behind.

After what had been a hectic and unsettled few weeks, he was hoping for a quiet evening where he could get some reading in and a good night's sleep, which he hadn't had much time to do since arriving.

Things were starting to settle down now, thankfully. From the destruction of _Evergreen_ to the pile of work waiting for him when he did finally arrive on the station. That wasn't to mention the funeral service. Overall he had had very little time for himself.

Thalon turned a corner in the corridor and headed down a straight-away, before finally arriving at his quarters.

The admiral stepped inside, letting the doors slide shut behind him as he made his way over to his desk. After checking that he had no important messages, he made his way into the bedroom section where he sat down on the edge of his bed.

He sat there for a few moments wondering what to do with his time. He was feeling a little too tired to read, so he decided to listen to some classical Andorian music. He laid himself down on the bed as the various instruments played soft soothing music.

Halfway through the relaxing hour-long concerto, a rather loud and obnoxious buzzing began to cut through the music. It took a moment before Thalon realised someone was at the door and that someone obviously wanted to talk to him.

With annoyance and reluctance, he pushed himself up off of the bed and switched off the music, before making his way out of the bedroom and over to the main door.

As they slid open, he was greeted by the face of Doctor Amy Cramer, the starbase's chief medical officer.

"Evening, Admiral," she greeted with a warm smile.

"I wasn't expecting to see you, Doctor," he replied with annoyance. "You need something?"

"I just stopped by to see if you were planning on having your physical any time soon?"

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"You don't appear to be busy now," the doctor observed.

He didn't like where this was going. "Actually, I was hoping for a quiet night," he said, hoping she would take the hint and leave it for tonight.

"Nonsense," she said, dismissing his wish for peace and quiet outright. "It won't take long."

Thalon didn't want to have to do this tonight, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of it without looking like he was avoiding it. It would also make him seem a little rude as she had come all this way up to his quarters to ask him about it.

Since Thalon preferred an environment where everyone got along, he decided he might as well go have his check-up. It would at least be out of the way, then.

"Okay, let's go," he relented.

Cramer grinned at that, flashing her white teeth at him. "Excellent. Finally, a commanding officer who knows when his chief medical officer has him beaten."

He didn't respond to that. He simply followed her as she turned and led the way down the corridor towards the nearest turbo-lift.

While some might think he had crossed the line by coming up to his personal space, she hadn't really. He needed to have his physical, or she could, as stated by regulations, start the process of having him removed from duty until he had.

Of course, if she did do that, then she would have enough paperwork to fill a hangar bay, something no one wanted. It was the reason why chief medical officers tended to be so patient with their commanding officers.

They both stepped into the turbo-lift, where Cramer gripped the control rod and gave it a quick twist. "Medical Centre, Sickbay," she commanded.

The Sickbay area of the medical centre was reserved for Starfleet personnel. While Doctor Cramer was technically in charge of the whole hospital, she left most of the running of the civilian section to someone else.

The elevator ride took a while. Going from the officer's quarters to the hospital section was the equivalent of traversing a dozen starships, perhaps more.

It wasn't long until they were sat in a room full of all sorts of equipment. Doctor Cramer was stood taking readings while he lay on the diagnostic bed.

"Everything good?" he asked her with little concern.

"From my scans, yes," she replied, looking at the board. "Just need to see how your body deals with some minor exertion."

Thalon didn't like where this was headed. He was certain he would end up embarrassing himself. He wasn't a young fit officer any longer and it was starting to show in various areas.

"Now," Cramer said, gesturing over to the inverted cardiovascular foot-pump machine. "Lay down there form me please."

Reluctantly, Thalon stood up from where he lay and made his way over to the rather unappealing device. He laid down, his eyes locking on the foot pumps which lay nearly half-way up the wall above his now vertical feet.

Doctor Cramer stood beside him with a wide, beaming smile. She was having fun knowing what was to come. "This is everyone's favourite part," she said. "Now, put your feet up on the pedals and start pumping."

He did as instructed and as expected, with his legs now above his torso, pumping away, his muscles quickly began to ache and grow tired.

Cramer shook her head disapprovingly. "Just as I suspected," she said, looking at her scans. "You're out of shape."

Under laboured breath, Thalon responded to that accusation. "I think my figure is rather trim."

"You are," she agreed. "I was referring to your muscle density and stamina. Just because you're not overweight doesn't mean you're in shape." She lowered her scanner. "You can stop now."

He lowered his legs quickly. "Thank you," he said breathing heavily, "they were starting to hurt."

She gave him a suggestion. "I think going for a walk for an hour every day should do the trick."

He disagreed. "I'm not sure I have the time for that, Doctor."

"You should at least try," she said back to him. "It'll do you good."

"Okay, alright, I'll try."

"Excellent," she said, clapping her hands together, before pulling out her scanner again.

"Something wrong?" Thalon questioned.

"I'm checking to see how much your heart rate has gone down since stopping." She checked the readings and tutted. "Both your breath and heartbeat are still quite high."

"I'm a little out of shape, remember?"

"I know. Once you're back to your default respiration and heart rate, I'll let you go."

"Why do I have to wait for that?" Thalon questioned.

Cramer looked slightly annoyed at him. "I want to know how long it takes," she answered.

"Remember I'm Andorian," he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I majored in xeno-sentient-biology. Andorians, Humans and Tellarites are my expertise."

"What about the other species?"

"I'm only mortal, Admiral. "I can't become an expert on them all. That's why we have computers after all."

"Of course," Thalon accepted.

"I'll give you a few more minutes," she told him. "Seems you're still a little out of breath."

Thalon tried to forcefully slow his breathing. He succeeded for a few moments before he was forced to take in a long breath.

It also didn't fool Cramer. "Stop that," she told him with a frown. "I know what you're attempting."

The admiral decided to relent and simply sat there in silence. He found that he liked Doctor Cramer, even though she was a bit blunt. There was something about her that was charming and personable.

"There we go," she said finally. "Took longer than it should have done, but your heart-rate and breathing is back within the norms."

Thalon pushed himself up off the side of the bed. "Then that's all I assume?"

"Yes it is. Make sure to do your exercise. I want you in the best health you can be the next time I see you."

"I will if I have the time."

"You'll make the time, Admiral."

"I'll try."

"We'll see."

Thalon smiled at her. "We will, won't we."

"In that case, I look forward to seeing your progress."

"I aim to please. I'll see you, Doctor." Thalon turned and headed out of the room.

Ten minutes later he was back in his quarters. He quickly changed out of his uniform and into his nightwear before climbing into bed. His excursion to sickbay had exhausted him and he was already feeling tired before the doctor coerced him to going down there.

He wasn't sure about going for morning walks. He would consider it, but unless his schedule allowed it, he would have to pass.

Perhaps he would have a treadmill installed into his office so he could do work and exercise at the same time.

It was just a thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Tedium and frustration. Those were the two main feelings that T'kinta was feeling as she sat there in the command chair, staring out of the viewscreen into the blackness of space. It was something she felt like she did a lot of these days. Just sit and stare with no hope of any action, with no hope of glory, with no hope for anything to occur that would be worth her time and especially not worth any of her effort.

Engineer Morro's repairs were taking far longer than she had expected or cared for them to take and it was starting to pick away at her nerves. She hated being out here, defenceless, motionless and visible for anyone who happened to fly close enough, which was more likely to happen the longer they were sat out here.

Every moment they were sat here doing nothing was another moment added to when they would complete their mission and be able to return to the empire. At this rate, they would never see the home world again.

It made her feel exposed and insecure, a feeling that she found quite unpleasant, especially when she had been feeling it for hours now.

With a grunt, she stood up. She had finally had enough and she wanted to speak with the engineer in person to find out what was taking him so long. It had been almost a full day and he still hadn't finished.

She had contacted him several times already and he had yammered on about the damage being worse than he had thought and how he was struggling to find the correct components to fix it.

Excuses, pure and simple. He was either being lazy or he was incompetent. No more would she talk to him through the ship's speakers, she was going to go down there and see what exactly it was that was taking him so long.

"I am off to see the engineer and listen to his idle excuses," she said loudly. "I will be back shortly."

She didn't wait for a response as she stormed off the bridge and made her way aft, crewmen moving swiftly out of the way as she strode swiftly down the corridors.

It wasn't long until she was setting foot on to the engineering deck. "Morro!" she bellowed loudly, not caring if she disturbed anyone.

An engineer who was stood at a nearby workstation looked over at her. "He is not here, captain."

That was not at all what she wanted to hear. "Where!?" she demanded. "I want to speak with him and I want to speak with him right now."

Sensing she was in a bad mood, the engineer quickly answered. "He is installing some equipment into the port nacelle."

"He's inside the nacelle?" she questioned growing even more frustrated.

"Yes, captain."

T'kinta had never been inside a warp nacelle before. She knew very little about them or how they worked and she didn't really have any interest in finding out. Still, regardless of whether she wanted to or now, it appeared that now she would have the chance to find out what one looked like.

Her attention was drawn back to the engineer as he continued to speak. "Do you want me to tell Morro you are looking for him?" he asked her.

"No," she replied. "But you will give me directions to where he is."

"I can take you there myself," he offered.

"Yes, do that. Now!" she commanded.

The engineer stepped away from the workstation and moved past her towards the door. T'kinta followed him as he took her toward the port nacelle.

The both of them headed down a series of ever-narrowing corridors until they eventually stopped by an access crawlway, which was little more than a hole in the wall.

The engineer pointed at it, as though it were not obvious it was there. "That leads to the nacelle," he told her.

She glared at him. "I will wait here. You will go in and tell him I want to speak to him. And be quick about it. I have been waiting long enough for him to make these repairs."

He saluted by slamming his fist into his chest. "Yes, Captain." Not a moment later he had vanished into the small access way.

T'kinta had very few fears. Small, tight spaces was, unfortunately, one of them. It wasn't the size of the space itself, rather that she disliked any place that restricted her movement. If she didn't have the room to swing her dagger, then the space she was in was too small.

She leant against the wall as she waited for either Morro or the young engineer to return with some idle excuse as to why Morro couldn't talk to her and why the repairs were taking so long.

Personally, she put it down to sheer incompetence.

After a near intolerable length of time stood there, she heard the pattering of someone crawling up the hole. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for him, it was Morro that appeared before her.

T'kinta wasted no time getting to the point. "What is taking so long?" she demanded. "It has been well over a day."

He wasn't at all intimidated by her yelling. "The damage was worse than I thought," he replied casually. "That and a lot of the decent engineers were killed because of Kroless. Also the cargo bays are a mess with smashed and scattered containers all over the place."

T'kinta forced herself to hold her tongue. She desperately wanted to call him out, to tell him that he was offering nothing but idle and pathetic excuses. But she knew that it was probably the truth. "How long?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Nearly complete. The warp core will be online faster than it takes a human to flee from a fight."

"Or a Romulan to stab you in the back," she muttered distastefully.

"No one can start up a warp core that fast," Morro joked.

His humour fell on deaf ears. K'tinka was simply not in the mood. "Get on with it. I want this ship to live again."

"As you wish," he acknowledged as he hurried past her towards engineering.

She was about to turn and leave for the bridge when she heard more banging coming from the hole. She stood there as three engineers crawled their way out of it like rodents.

They quickly saluted her and she saluted back before she turned and headed back to the bridge. She wanted to be there to give the command to get back underway in search of Starfleet's base of operations I this sector, be it a space station, or a planet side starbase.

A few minutes later she was back on the bridge. She sat back down in the centre chair and awaited the moment her ship would come back to life, which was something that had become tedious hours ago.

She sat there for an uncomfortable length of time before the deck began to subtly vibrate as the cruiser finally awoke from its unwanted slumber. T'kinta imagined it like a predator that needed to rest after a fierce battle with a rival. Now it was awake and ready to face its foes again if necessary.

She received a call from Morro in engineering. _"The core is back online."_

"Good," she replied bluntly. "Helm, set course on our last heading."

"Course is already set, Captain."

"Then go to warp five," she commanded, before turning to tactical. "And re-engage the cloaking device."

"Yes, Captain."

T'kinta turned her attention back to the intercom. "Morro, you took far longer with the repairs than you said you would. Do not make it a habit or else I may have to just put someone else in charge of engineering. Understood?"

" _On my honour, I promise you, it won't. As we speak I am having everything in the cargo bay catalogued so that we know exactly what we have and what we lost during our battle with the Starfleet ship and also with Kroless' traitors."_

"Good. Anything that can be salvaged is to be separated from anything that was destroyed. Anything that is too badly damaged is to be broken down to its base components and re-purposed."

" _Yes, it is already being done."_

"Don't let me down again, Morro."

" _I already told you, I won't. As long as you keep us out of pointless battles, this ship will keep running."_

"Let us hope. Bridge out."

T'kinta closed the channel and cast her gaze forward out of the viewscreen. It was good to see the stars moving again. Soon they would complete the first phase of their mission, to find the local military installation. Once that was done, then the next part of their mission would begin, which was the tedious task of espionage which included decrypting all of their encrypted transmissions.

While she found the thought of snooping to be distasteful, it was the task that had been given to them by command. She had every intention of making sure this mission succeeded.

* * *

The next several hours went by slowly. T'kinta had to force herself not to doze out of boredom.

As soon as the gigantic space station had appeared on sensors, however, all of her fatigue evaporated as she jumped up out of her seat.

"Hold position," she commanded. "Begin passive scans of the area."

The helmsman immediately obeyed, dropping the ship out of warp and bringing her to a stop.

T'kinta turned to the communications station. "Devuk, every signal that leaves or arrives at that space station, I want to be recorded and catalogued. Anything encoded should be sent to my cabin computer.

"Yes, of course, Captain," he said with a bow.

"T'kinta smiled. "Our mission has finally begun." She turned to the tactical station. "If you think we have been detected, do not decloak or attack." She turned to the helm. "If we are detected, you are to take us away from the station in a staggered pattern. If they follow, then call me to the bridge."

"Yes, Captain," they all acknowledged in unison.

"I will be in my cabin. Contact me if anything changes." A moment later she had left the bridge and was heading to her cabin. Having spent most of the day doing nothing had fatigued her mind and she needed rest and a fresh start.

Now all they had to do was wait and collect data. If they discovered anything of interest, then they were expected to investigate. It was all very tedious work, yet it was necessary.

Her only hope was that Starfleet was in fact up to no good out here and that they discovered it sooner rather than later, because if they were out here to simply expand their borders, then they would be here, sat doing little of nothing for quite some time to come. If that was the case, then T'kinta knew that both she and the crew would become very bored very fast and there was little she could do to fix that.

Knowing Starfleet and the Federation, however, it was more than likely that the reason they were out here was as droll as the simple expansion of their territory. If it was expansion, then that meant that they were wasting their time out here trying to find something that wasn't even there. That probable reality was what frustrated her about this mission the most


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Joshua Bartlett watched as the final container was put into place in his cargo hold by the large lifting arm. His ship wasn't a fancy starship, starliner or a yacht. It wasn't even a particularly new ship. It was an old cargo hauler by the name of the _Periphery_ that he and his wife, Olivia, had bought a few years back _._

"That's it," Mira said with a smile. "Last one's aboard and secured," she rhymed.

Mira was Joshua and Olivia's adopted daughter, who they had rescued along with her sister Marie from Tarsus IV. The two of them had been small children at the time and when they had found them, they had been so thin that they were beginning to starve.

Their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles had all been executed by the then Governor Kodos, who had been since given the apt name of Kodos the Executioner.

The whole ordeal had been heartbreaking. Half the crops had been lost and without enough to feed everyone, Kodos had made the decision to sacrifice half of the colony to save the other half. He had been too eager to start the killing. Aid had come in time to stop them from starving, but not soon enough to prevent the slaughter.

Mira and Marie's parents had hidden them away when the death squads had come for them. A family torn apart, destroyed, obliterated. The worst part was that it had all been for nothing.

Somehow Kodos had never been caught. A lot of his administration and those that had carried out the heinous acts, however, had found themselves imprisoned for their crimes. To this day, Joshua still couldn't understand how Kodos himself had managed to escape.

Reports of what had happened on Tarsus IV spread throughout the Federation like a wildfire. But there were no images of the man that weren't a decade old, all the current ones being erased from the Tarsus libraries. The whole thing stank. How did the governor of a whole planet not have pictures of them elsewhere? How was it that they couldn't detect him through a DNA search?

Joshua wasn't one for conspiracies, but he couldn't deny that something was off about the whole thing. Still, it was a long time ago now, almost forgotten by the general public.

Joshua turned to see Cayan and Olivia step into the cargo hold. Cayan was a Caitian and also the engineer. They didn't really go into his history before coming here, but as they understood it, he had been a Starfleet Academy candidate who hadn't made the grade.

Cayan had known Marie back then at the academy. In fact, the only reason he'd hired the Caitian was because he had become acquainted with one of his old friends, a now Admiral Noriega.

About ten years ago, their then engineer, a man by the name of Rodney, had needed an assistant and Noriega had recommended the young Caitian.

At first, Rodney hadn't been impressed and Joshua had considered letting Cayan go or at the very least seeing if there was something else he could do aboard the ship. But before that happened, something had caught Rodney's eye, a skill that the engineer had realised Cayan possessed. Something that he could cultivate.

Cayan had eventually been given the chance to show everyone what he could do, unfortunately, it had a cost and that cost had been Rodney's life.

It had happened around four years ago on what had been s standard run to Deep Space Station K8. They had done everything by the book. They had used the correct shipping lanes and maintained regulation velocities. But opportunistic pirates had taken noticed of them and their cargo.

They hadn't stood a chance against them. With only basic lasers, accelerator cannons for armaments and polarised hull plating for shielding, the pirates had easily disabled them.

Their ship had then been boarded and Rodney had been the first one to die, then it had been their medic. It wasn't because they had tried to fight. No, it was simply a show of power, to let the rest know that they were at their mercy.

They took everything. Cargo, dilithium, even their food stores. They had been left for dead, disabled and unable to call for help.

Thankfully, because they were in a shipping lane, it wasn't long until a passing starship was able to give them aid. If Joshua had decided to take a shortcut, then there was a good chance they would have died.

It wasn't until another eight months had passed until they managed to get another and their current medic. Charlotte was her name and she had served as a nurse back on Earth. She had wanted to get away from what she had on several occasions referred to as a mundane and droll life. She dreamed of seeing the stars, though didn't want to sign up to Starfleet.

Around that time his friend Noriega had used some of his connections to get them some better defensive systems and upgrade their lasers to civilian grade phasers. It was a good thing too, as only last week they had run into Orion Pirates. If they hadn't had the upgraded systems then they would probably be dead right now.

Joshua gestured over to the inventory console. "Check we have everything," he said to Mira before he headed for the doors that led out of the cargo bay.

"We do," Mira called after him. "I made sure of it before the last container was brought in."

He stopped by the door and looked around. "In that case, we'll get going." He smiled. "Our second run to New Loknar as begun."

The others followed him out of the cargo hold and up a set of stairs. They then headed over to the small medics bay.

Joshua poked his head just inside the door, while the others continued on. "We'll be taking off soon," he told Charlotte, who was sat at her desk inside.

She turned and looked at him. "Time for our big departure celebration dinner?" she asked him.

"That's right. We'll be taking off as soon as we're back."

Charlotte rose up from her desk and followed him down the corridor where they met up with the others who were stood by the airlock. On the other side was the large orbital station that hung over the planet.

Olivia pressed the button, opening the hatch. "Let's go find that restaurant," she said.

They all promptly stepped through and Joshua locked the ship behind them. They then made their way down the docking umbilical onto the station.

It wasn't long until the group was setting foot on the promenade. The place was long and ran nearly from one end of the station to the other. Along the sides of the three-tiered area were stores, restaurants, bars among other things.

Joshua scratched the back of his head completely lost. "Which way is it again?"

"This way," Olivia said, taking them straight to their destination.

The restaurant wasn't the classiest place on the station, but it was decent for the price. Considering there were only a few places that sold food, it was a nice balance of good food and cheap price. The most expensive place cost more credits then they were willing to part with and the cheapest place had food that they weren't willing to eat.

This place also had larger tables, probably due to the amount of traffic that came through being like them, crews of cargo ships. In fact, it was the only place that had that foresight. Most of the tables held eight, but some held as many as twenty. Since there were only five of them, they would take one of the smaller tables, which sat six.

They didn't have to wait long before a waiter came to take their orders. As it was their custom before leaving on a run, they ordered a lot. Soups for starters, synthetic steak and some cheap wine for main. Each one of them chose a different sauce and vegetables, well Cayan didn't order vegetables as his stomach protested flora. Caitians were mostly a carnivorous species, not omnivores like humans.

It was a brief wait until their soups arrived. Joshua had a very simple tomato soup, while both Olivia and Mira had vegetable, which looked almost like a broth than a soup, Charlotte had chicken soup while Cayan went for some other meat that the others hadn't even heard of before.

As with what had also become their custom, they ate their starter in silence. It wasn't until their empty bowls were being taken away did they start talking.

Mira was the first to speak. "How far is it to New Loknar from here?"

Joshua answered. "Not very far at all. It'll take us about three days to get there from here."

"Can we stop by that starbase?" Mira asked him.

Olivia shook her head. "We don't have time, sorry."

Mira's face fell and she slouched into her chair.

"We'll head there after delivering the cargo," Joshua promised. "How's that?"

"Okay, I suppose," Mira accepted unenthusiastically.

"Cheer up," Cayan said, knowing why she wanted to go to the starbase. "You'll get to see your sister again."

"I hope so," she mumbled. "It's just been so long."

They all fell silent as the waiter started bringing them their main courses. With their food in front of them, they each began to tuck in.

After swallowing a mouthful of potato, Mira cautiously looked up at Joshua. "When we do get there if the _London_ isn't in dock can I stay behind and wait?"

Joshua looked up from his dinner. "Huh?" he asked confused. "Stay where?"

"At that Starbase," Mira clarified.

Olivia shook her head. "That's not a good idea."

"Why not?" Mira objected.

"Because those starships can be gone for months," Olivia explained.

Joshua added, "Plus, where would you even stay?"

"On the station, "Mira repeated.

"How would you afford it?" Olivia asked. "Places on starbases like that aren't cheap."

Mira shovelled more mashed potato into her mouth not wanting to respond lest she said something she regretted. She only wanted to see her sister again. It had been so long that she wondered if she would still even recognise her. Would Marie still even be the same person she had known all those years ago?

What frustrated her the most about the whole thing was that they were almost within reach. The ship her sister was serving on was stationed in this sector. It was entirely possible that they would run into each other while the _London_ was out on patrol and they were out on a run. After all, Starfleet did patrol space-lanes.

Joshua watched her munch silently on her food with a dejected look on her face. He felt guilty for not being able to head to the starbase. Hell, he himself wanted to go see her too. He knew though that no matter how much he himself wanted to see his adopted daughter again, Mira needed to see her more.

The two of them had been through a lot together and had shared a strong sisterly bond. That bond had been split apart and it was all his fault.

He hadn't wanted Marie to join Starfleet and he had been fiercely adamant against it. Now, he knew that if he had accepted her wishes that things would have been different. Sure, she would have still joined the service, but at the very least they would have kept in contact.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried to contact her in the past. After she had left they had tried constantly to track her down and keep in contact to no avail. Noriega kept them apprised to some extent of her whereabouts, but they couldn't always get into contact with him. He was a busy man after all.

A few days ago, Joshua had been given an opportunity to send a message directly to Marie. He had taken it. None of the others knew about it and he wasn't about to tell them. He wasn't even sure it had been a good idea or a stupid mistake. Thus far he hadn't heard a response, which didn't bode well. He had hoped that with time came forgiveness, but it appeared it hadn't.

"You all look so glum," Charlotte commented looking down at their sullen faces. "We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves."

"Yes," Olivia agreed. "We should be."

"Sure," Mira said unenthusiastically.

Joshua didn't say anything. He simply finished off his meal and waited for the others to do the same.

With that out of the way, they paid the credits and left heading back to the ship.

Once aboard, Joshua wasted no time in heading for the cockpit with his wife. They both sat in the pilot and navigation chairs beside each other and began the pre-flight checks.

"Everything looks fine to me," Olivia said finally after several minutes

"I agree," Joshua said, before flicking a switch and speaking into the intercom. "Cayan, things are good to go up here, how about down there?"

" _Just finishing a diagnostic,"_ came Cayan's response. _"And it's done. We're ready to go down here."_

Olivia smiled as she keyed a few buttons before speaking. "Station control, this is the cargo vessel _Periphery_ requesting permission to depart."

The response came quickly. "Periphery, _this dock control. You are cleared to depart in three minutes. Please await departure window and lane information."_

" _Periphery_ acknowledges and awaits information," Olivia responded.

While she sat there with the channel open, Joshua tapped the side of the helm console impatiently. He hated having to wait.

Soon, though, the three minutes had gone by and they had been given their departure lane and they were de-docking and getting under way.

Joshua turned to Olivia. "How long until we're out of the system and can go to warp?" he asked her.

"Five hours and forty-seven minutes," she replied.

"In that case, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" she asked glancing at him.

"Can you have a talk with Mira?" he asked. "It's just that I'm a bit worried."

"Worried that she'll leave too?" Olivia questioned. "I honestly don't think you have to worry about that."

"I know, it's just that for the first time since Marie left, we're in reach of her. But even now, she 's still just out of our reach." Joshua looked forward out into the blackness of space.

"It's tough, I know," Olivia said. "She's been out of our lives now longer than she had ever been in it. Yet we still love her and we still miss her."

"We do," Joshua agreed wholeheartedly. "As though she was our own."

Olivia rose up from her seat. "I'll go and see Mira like you ask. She'll probably be in engineering with Cayan."

"Yes, she will be," Joshua said. "Cayan says she's learning a lot and could make a decent engineer herself."

"I think she'd argue that she's already better than decent," Olivia half-joked.

Joshua let out a short chuckle. "Probably so," he agreed.

Olivia made her way over to the door that lay at the back of the cockpit. "I'll talk to you later."

Joshua turned in his chair to face her. "Later," he said as he watched her leave. He then turned back to face the helm console and put on some music, leaning back in his chair.

It was a long trip to the edge of the system and it was a good time for him to just sit back and relax.

* * *

Down in engineering were Mira and Cayan. Mira was checking the plasma flow read out, noting that the mixture was incorrect.

She turned to Cayan. "It's running a bit rich. We might end up damaging the flow regulator."

Cayan let out a sigh. Or at least the Caitian equivalent that came more as a throaty growl. "It keeps doing that," he said as he moved over to the control panel. "Re-adjusting the mixture."

"I say it's the control sensor that's the problem," she said, making an educated guess.

"Oh, it most definitely is the control sensor," Cayan confirmed. "The thing used to do this very thing about five years back. I fixed it, but it looks like it's messing up again."

"Can it be fixed again?" Mira asked as she watched the mixture return to normal thanks to Cayan's adjustment.

"I think we should just get a new one," he said. "I wanted to back when it wasn't working right the first time, but we didn't have enough credits at the time."

"And we do now?" Mira asked.

"We're better off than we were," Cayan told her.

Both turned towards the door as Olivia stepped inside. "How's everything down here?" she asked.

"We need a new control sensor," Mira told him.

"We do?"

"Yeah, the plasma mixture control sensor is on the Fritz," Mira explained.

Olivia nodded. "We should keep a look out for one."

"It's definitely needed," Cayan said. "I've fixed it once before, but we've had it eight years and even then it's second hand."

"I'll tell Joshua and we'll make it a priority."

"That's all I ask," Cayan said.

Olivia looked straight at Mira. "I actually came down here to speak with you."

"Okay," Mira accepted, moving away from the console she was manning and moving over to her. "Anything in particular you wanted to see me about?"

"Let's go outside into the corridor," Olivia suggested.

"Sure," Mira agreed, despite feeling a little concerned over what she wanted to talk to her about. It wasn't normal for her to come down to engineering. Normally these days when the wanted to speak, they did it over the intercom, in the lounge or at dinner.

As soon as they were out of engineering and the door was shut, Olivia began. "We're worried about you."

That caught Mira by surprise. "You are?" she asked bewildered. "Worried about what exactly?"

"Listen, Mira. We both know that while we've been telling ourselves that we're in this region of space because it offers us opportunities, the truth is we're only out this far because of your sister."

Mira started to understand what she was getting at. "You're not worried that I'll run off to find her are you?" Mire questioned. "Listen, what I said at dinner about staying at the station was just me thinking aloud and being over eager."

"Glad to hear it."

"I want to see her, in fact, I desperately want to see her again. But this is my home."

Olivia smiled widely. "And it'll always be your home. We're all a family, each and every one of us on this ship."

"I know and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me."

"And I'm grateful for everything you've given us as well."

The two of them hugged briefly.

"I'll let you get back on in engineering," Olivia told her.

"Okay, then. I'll see you at supper."

"See you."

Mira turned around and stepped back into engineering.

Cayan looked up at her. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"Just wanted to talk about Marie."

"I won't pry, then," Cayan said, turning his attention back to his console.

"Nah, it's fine. Olivia was just worried I was going to run off in search of her."

He looked back up at her with a furrowed brow. "But we already know she's on the _London_ in this sector."

"Yeah, I know. I guess they thought I was going to do it anyway." She moved back over to the console she was at before and keyed in a command. "The mixture seems fine now," she observed.

"Yes," he said. "Should be for at least a week. An Earth week, anyway."

"Maybe when we get to New Loknar we could pull the thing out and see if we can repair it?" Mira suggested.

Cayan had another idea. "Or perhaps we see if we can get a new one from there, or wait and try and requisition one at Starbase 59."

Mira nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a better idea. Though if Marie is there at the station, you'll be swapping it out all on your own. I'll be busy."

"Don't worry about it. Your sister takes precedent over the regulator. Besides, I know how to pull it out and replace it."

Mira pressed a few buttons and checked the readout. "Well, everything else is fine. No issues."

"As it should be."

The next five hours went smoothly and before long they were jumping to warp on their way to the New Loknar colony.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

N'reinn and Arie walked along the faux stone pathway that led around the small pond that lay in the gigantic environmental enclosure.

The two of them hadn't said much to each other, mainly because this was the first time they had been out somewhere together since their first assignment several years previous. They were both feeling slightly nervous about it, even though there was no real reason for them to be.

It was Arie who finally decided to break the silence. "Not quite like our nights on the town when we were back at the academy," she commented.

"No," N'reinn agreed. "For one thing we're not drunk."

Arie chuckled. "If I recall you had some trouble processing it."

"Yeah, it made me sick," the Caitian said remembering back. "Don't know why I kept doing it."

"Because you were dumb," Arie joked.

"I could say the same about you," N'reinn shot back.

Arie chuckled "Of course you could. We were both young idiots who didn't know their limits. But at least I could handle my alcohol."

"Sure, you could handle your alcohol but you certainly couldn't handle your spices. The beads of sweat that formed on your brow anytime you ate anything even remotely spicy."

"Remotely spicy? I've had spicy and the stuff you liked to eat was caustic. I swear your mouth is lined with something."

"It's a Caitian thing," N'reinn said. "Or at least it is from where I'm from. I'm a hot climate girl. Grew up in a desert and most of our food was spicy."

"Which as I recall was why you always wore that thick coat, even in high summer. Everyone else was sweating in the sun and you were there looking like you were on a Scandinavian expedition."

"Not my fault it was cold in San Francisco. Besides, I adapted to the colder weather."

"Still, you wouldn't do well on my ship."

"Why's that?" N'reinn asked.

"The ship's a few degrees lower than standard. I remember when I stepped aboard for the first time and feeling the cold air on my face and legs. It was quite the odd sensation. I was so used to ships being a certain temperature that it took me by surprise."

"It's all Andorian isn't it?"

"Mostly," Arie said. "There's a handful of other races, but yeah, it's primarily Andorian."

"I know what that's like," N'reinn said. "Being on a ship full of people from another species I mean. But in my case it's not Andorians, it's humans. Been that way my whole career. I'm completely used to it now, though some new crew members often aren't used to seeing what in their eyes is a walking talking cat."

"The Federation is only just over a hundred years old," Arie pointed out. "Most planets are still very insular and Earth is no different. Most humans grow up with other humans with no contact with aliens until they join Starfleet or become traders or something similar. Humans still have human colonies, so do the Andorians and Vulcans. This often carries on to ships and assignments. Speaking of which, aren't there any Caitian ships?"

"We have our own defence force like the Vulcans, Tellarites and Andorians and such, but unlike the others, there are no Caitian divisions within Starfleet yet as far as I know. We're a relatively new member world."

"Well you never know, you might be the captain of the first Caitian Federation Starship," Arie said.

"That would be nice but it's probably never going to happen. Caitian ships in Starfleet, sure, but not me being a captain."

"Why do you say that?" Arie questioned.

"My career has been stalling for a few years now," N'reinn said. "Admiral Thalon promoted me and I'm grateful. But the last few years I haven't really felt fulfilled. Maybe this assignment here on the station will change that. It's too early to really tell but I've been enjoying it here so far. But I know if I end up getting stuck here too long then I'll probably grow frustrated like I did on the _Evergreen_."

"You don't become a captain with that attitude," Arie pointed out. "You have to push for promotion sometimes. I did and I'm getting where I want to go."

"I did push for promotion. I pushed and never got anywhere. I was trapped. I thought my career was going to end on the _Evergreen_. It almost did but not in the way I had been expecting."

"I'm sorry," Arie said sympathetically. "I'm sorry you got stuck in a bad assignment and I'm sorry about what happened to your ship.

"Crews and ships are being lost all of the time these days," N'reinn mused. "Sometimes I feel like we need to take a step back to slow down."

"We signed up to explore the unknown. Danger is a part of that" Arie pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that in the academy they kinda gloss over it. Do you know what I mean?"

Arie nodded. "I can't pretend to know what it's like to have your ship blown up from around you. What I do know is that I'm here for you now, even if I wasn't. You need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thanks," N'reinn said gratefully. "But I don't want to talk about it. We should be enjoying ourselves and having fun, not dwelling on the past."

"You're right we should be having fun," Arie agreed. "I saw some tennis courts over by the central tower. You wanna play?"

"I'll absolutely annihilate you at tennis," she said smirking. "Better eyesight, reflexes and all that, remember."

Arie smirked back. "As I remember, you had a little trouble holding a tennis racquet because of those stubby fingers you've got."

N'reinn gave her a friendly shove. "Hey, they aren't that stubby."

Arie grinned. "I know, but I like teasing you about it."

"Good to know you haven't changed."

"Of course I haven't. It's me we're talking about."

"So, if you haven't changed does that mean you're going to get drunk and fall into a fountain?" the Caitian teased.

"I only did that once," Arie protested.

"Okay, what about that wall you managed to fall over?"

"It was a small wall," Arie defended. "A very small wall."

"And what about those stairs you fell down that one time?"

Arie pulled a face of discomfort at the memory at that particular instance. "I broke my arm."

"We didn't go out and get drunk for six months."

"It was four," Arie corrected. "Then we were at it again. And if you're gonna bring up embarrassing things from our past, what about that time you vomited on that admiral?"

N'reinn's eyes went wide. "I had completely forgotten all about that," she said.

"He was really pissed off about it as I recall."

"It was your fault," the Caitian accused. "You were always harassing me about going out with you to get drunk on the weekends at the academy when I would have rather stayed in."

Arie shook her head. "That wasn't when we were at the academy," Arie told her. "That happened when we were both serving on the _Defiant_."

N'reinn was silent for a moment before nodding as she remembered. "Yeah, you're right. We were on shore leave."

"Yeah, we were," Arie confirmed. "I don't think I ever apologised."

"I honestly cannot remember if you did or didn't," N'reinn said. "It was that long ago."

"Well, just in case I didn't, I'm sorry. I knew you didn't take alcohol well and a pushed you into it."

"I was still an adult. I could have easily refused," N'reinn pointed out. "It was as more my fault than it was yours."

"You were put on report if I remember right," Arie said.

"No, I was almost put on report," N'reinn corrected. "It was only because the admiral was in a hurry that I wasn't."

"Well, I'm still sorry for the role I played in it regardless. I should have accepted you couldn't handle your drink and I shouldn't have pushed you into it."

"We were young and dumb."

"And now we're old and stupid," Arie joked.

"We're not old yet," N'reinn said.

"Maybe not, but we're getting there," Arie mused.

"Starting to feel your mortality?"

"I've felt that since Tarsus IV."

"Of course. Sorry," N'reinn apologised.

"There's no need to be sorry," Arie told her friend. "It was a long time ago. A very long time."

"I don't know how anybody gets over something like that. Especially when it happens to a child."

"Which is why I don't usually think about it," Arie said quietly.

"Sorry, I should shut up about it."

"You keep apologising but you've got nothing to apologise for. It's okay, it's in the past and I brought it up."

"I guess we both just like apologising to each other."

"I suppose so," Arie agreed. "Maybe we should move past being sorry and just be glad we're both here able to catch up."

"Yeah. Let's go to that sports centre you pointed out earlier," N'reinn suggested.

"You just wanna thrash me with your superior reflexes," Arie said.

"Maybe I do," N'reinn said with half a shrug. "But you enjoy the challenge, or at least you used to."

"I still do. And as I recall, I used to beat you more often than not."

"Only because I let you."

"You wish," Arie scoffed. "You weren't that good."

"That's what you want to believe," N'reinn said grinning.

"I know what you're trying to do," Arie said. "And it's worked. Alright, you name the game and I'll play a round or two."

"Tennis, three rounds. Winner takes all."

"All of what?" Arie asked.

"All the glory. Now let's get to the sports centre and hope they have some courts free."

The two of them moved away from the small pond and headed towards the sports centre.

* * *

The room was cast in a dim light. The only sound was the low thrum of the station that was ever present and all surrounding.

Commander Saaris was sat there on the centre of her bed. Her eyes were closed and her legs were crossed. Her breathing was slow and measured, but things were not going her way.

Once again she was trying to meditate, but as with before, she was failing completely and utterly. She hadn't noticed that her teeth were clenched and her upper lip was curled into a snarl.

Instead of making her feel calm and in control, all her attempts at meditation were doing was making her feel more and more frustrated.

Nothing worked. She had tried several different positions, different lighting, different types of candles including scented candles and even relaxing music and sounds of the ocean which were said to be calming. But it had all been futile and she was only wasting her time. Now she was attempting to meditate in silence once more and as with everything else, it was pointless.

With that final thought, her eyes snapped open and focused onto the wall. It was not logical for her to sit here wasting time, not when she could be doing something more fruitful.

The issue was that there was nothing else for her to do. There were no tasks or problems to solve; sans her lack of being able to meditate, and there was no place she wanted to go and no one that she wanted to talk to.

Going for that walk earlier had done little to ease her mind in the long run and had only given her a brief reprieve from the frustration she felt.

It was near infuriating to not be able to do something that had been relatively easy and simple before. Now that she was unable to attain it, she could see that she had taken her ability to meditate for granted. It was a given and now it was gone.

It was, to use a human phrase, soul crushing.

Saaris climbed up off of the side of the bed and began to pace around the room.

She briefly thought about seeking out another Vulcan on the station, to see if they could be of any help. She quickly dismissed the notion. She did not want to be seen struggling with controlling her emotions, especially by another Vulcan.

As she paced she began to grow increasingly angrier. Her footfalls on the floor as she paraded around began to grow heavier and faster. This was not how things were supposed to be. She was meant to be on the _Evergreen_ , she was meant to be an executive officer, she was meant in control of her emotions, they certainly weren't supposed to be in control of her.

Saaris ceased pacing as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and she looked strangely pale. Her expression was one of anger and frustration. The sight of her own face displaying such emotion gave her pause. It was both surprising and disturbing. Her face took on the expression of the new emotions and this again shocked her at how much her face was betraying what she felt.

Then her face creased back to anger. She shouldn't be feeling these emotions with such ferocity. They should be quelled, defeated and controlled.

No longer wanting to see her own face she put her fist through the mirror shattering it.

Slowly she pulled her hand back, her knuckled bloody from the shards. She then looked at the smashed mirror which now existed as reflective fragments on the top of the dresser.

She stood there for several minutes in silence before the fury boiled inside her, hitting her harder than she knew how to deal with.

She completely lost it.

The Vulcan pulled the drawers out of the dresser and hurled them across the room, the meagre few clothes she had, flew out as the drawers smashed against the wall.

She then grabbed the dresser and lifted it off the floor and proceeded to bash it against the wall until it shattered into fragments.

From there she turned her attention to the computer monitor that sat on the desk by the door. She tore the monitor off of its housing and hurled it at the adjacent wall before kicking the desk hard, her foot denting the metal she then began to strike it with her fists, the once smooth surface becoming distorted and pitted.

She didn't care how much it hurt, or the blood or the tears that ran down her face. She just wanted to destroy everything. She felt that if she could vent all of her anger and all of her frustration then somehow it would all be okay, that somehow everything could be as it once was.

Even so, she knew it wouldn't. All she was doing was destroying her quarters because she had lost the ability to control her own nature.

Surak had taught them to control this nature, to control their emotions because at their core they were savages. Now her own primitive violent nature had come to the forefront. It could no longer be contained and it could no longer be controlled.

Then something made her stop.

 _He_ was outside, she could sense him, feel him.

The buzzer sounded and she stood there in the centre of the destruction completely and utterly dumbfounded. The room was a mess with pieces of furniture strewn all over the place. If she hadn't been the one that had done it then she would have at first glance assumed that it was an explosive or some wild beast had found its way into her quarters.

She was at a loss as to what she should do. If she didn't answer then he might call someone to force the door open. If they saw her room in this mess then they might thing she needed psychiatric help.

Then again maybe she did.

He began to knock at the door with what she assumed was his knuckles. He wasn't going to give up, not easily.

Wiping her eyes, Saaris decided to face him.

Slowly she made her way over and pressed down the button on the panel next to the door. It slid open to reveal a concerned looking Paul Schaffer standing on the other side.

"Are you-" he began but stopped when he saw the stated of the room. "Have you been attacked?" he questioned with concern.

She shook her head with a solemn. "No."

"Is everything okay?"

"No," she said.

"Saaris, what's happened."

"Nothing."

He gestured to the wreck of a room. "That is definitely not nothing."

She looked down at the deck. She felt small, insignificant and worse of all ashamed.

Schaffer noticed her blooded hands. "You're hurt," he said reaching for them.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, pushing him back hard.

He stumbled backwards and fell, bashing the back of his head hard against the deck.

Saaris stared at his unconscious form for several moments before checking that no one was around or had witnessed what had happened.

Satisfied that no one had seen them, she reached down and picked him up and carried him into her quarters, placing him down on her bed, the only piece of furniture that hadn't seen her wrath.

She then checked his pulse before locking the door.

This was it, the metaphorical last straw. She had just assaulted a fellow Starfleet officer unprovoked. This would be a permanent mark on her record. It would follow her for the rest of her career.

A joyless laugh escaped her lips. "What career?" she asked herself.

There was no future for her. One look at her quarters and she would be declared unfit for duty and on top of that, assaulting an officer would at the very least lead to disciplinary action.

She stared at Paul's unconscious form for several minutes. She didn't know what to do. Did she call security and turn herself in or did she wait for him to wake up and try and explain herself?

She chose the latter. The situation might still be salvageable as long as she kept her head. Paul was a very understanding person. She was sure that if she explained what she was going through, he would be able to forgive her.

Or at the very least, she hoped so.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Having managed somehow find some free time in his busy schedule, Admiral Thalon had decided to do what Doctor Cramer had essentially ordered and had gone for a stroll. Which had ended up more of an unintended long walk.

As it turned out, the station was a large place. So large in fact that he was now completely and utterly lost.

While Thalon knew he could use one of the many communications panels on the wall to call for assistance the truth was that he was embarrassed. The fact that he was late getting back to his office only made his feeling of embarrassment worse.

Finally he decided to bite the proverbial bullet and use the wall comm panel to call his yeoman for directions. Hopefully he would be able to help, otherwise it might actually be hours before he got back to his office.

He pushed down the button and spoke to the panel, hoping his yeoman was alone as to avoid embarrasment. "Thalon to Yeoman Rialtan."

There was a brief pause before the yeoman responded. _"Yess ssir, Rialtan here,"_ the Saurian replied.

"Are you able to ascertain my current location and more importantly point me to the nearest turbo-lift?"

" _Yess ssir. To get to the nearesst turbo-lift from where you are head down the corridor, take your firsst right and then your ssecond left. Continue down there and you will find the elevator."_

"Thank you, Yeoman," Thalon said with gratitude before he released the intercom button.

He began to make his way forward when he realised that he didn't actually know if this was the way the yeoman meant or if it was back the way he came. He supposed he would soon find out.

After following the instructions and coming to find no elevator, he decided to retrace his steps back to the intercom and then proceeded to follow the instructions the other way where he found the turbo-lift right where Rialtan has said it would be.

Once inside he gripped the control handle and twisted it. "Operations centre," he commanded.

Thalon relaxed as the turbo-lift began to ascend. He might have gotten away with getting lost without embarrassment given that Rialtan didn't tell everyone.

He knew that if he was going to continue on these walks then he would have to plan a route to follow. Or he could simply go for a walk in the environmental enclosure.

The latter was probably the best idea. Plus he would be able to interact with people.

The turbo-lift slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. The admiral stepped out into the large and quite busy operations centre.

"There you are sir," Commander Gessi greeted from where he stood in the command area in the centre of the room. "I was starting to think you had gotten lost."

"Perhaps just a little," Thalon replied jovially. "Anything to report commander?"

"Nothing of note, sir," the commander replied. "Though Doctor Cramer did tell me to remind you to go out on that daily walk."

"Which is what I've just done," Thalon told him.

"I'll tell her you're taking her advice."

"Don't worry Commander, I'll tell her myself."

"And I'll collaborate it, sir, just in case she's sceptical."

Thalon smiled. "It's good to know you have my back Commander. I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Of course sir."

Thalon made his way up the steps to the upper part of the control room and stepped through the sliding doors into the yeoman's office.

"Your directions were useful once I went the right way," Thalon told him.

The Saurian glanced up from the computer monitor. "Thank you ssir."

"Just keep my need to ask for directions between us."

"Of course ssir," the yeoman acknowledged.

The admiral stepped into his office and sat down behind his desk. The first thing he did was check for messages. He smiled warmly when he saw that he had received one from his previous assignment at the research and development station.

His smile grew wider when he opened the message and saw a lot of familiar faces, including Aaron, Cally, Denny, Paul and Christine who were all department heads and people he had worked with closely for many years. His smile faded when he noticed the look of concern on their currently frozen faces.

He decided to play the file. _"We heard what happened with the_ Evergreen _,"_ Aaron began

" _We hope that you're doing okay,"_ another by the name of Cally said.

Thalon felt touched by their concern.

" _If there's anything we can do call us,"_ Denny added. _"Also, good luck with your new posting."_

It positively warmed heart. He would miss them, he really would. He had left the research station as a commodore and he had arrived as an admiral. So many things had happened in between and most of it once he had set foot on the _Evergreen_ and again not until the Klingons had attacked them.

He watched the rest of the message with a nostalgic smile. As soon as it ended he made one in return, informing them that he was okay and thanked them for their concern.

With the message sent, he turned his attention back to his work, feeling energized and ready for what lay ahead.

* * *

When Do Vulcans Cry? That was the title of a book of fiction, written by a human author and published in 2190. At the time it was met with praise by the human critics though largely derided by the Vulcans as both inaccurate and of poor quality. Regardless of its reception both positive and negative, Saaris now felt that she could answer that question quite easily.

For the last few hours, Saaris had been sat there on the edge of the bed staring down at Paul as he lay there on the bed unconscious.

She knew that she should call sickbay and get him checked out. But she honestly couldn't pluck up the courage. So she simply sat there staring.

It had never been her intention to hurt him. It was just that when he had seen the state of her room and the blood on her hands she had panicked and acted out against him.

Saaris kept going over what had happened in her head. Why had she shoved him so hard? Why had she shoved him at all? She was simply glad that it had only been a push instead of something more physical. What if she had struck him with her fist? Humans didn't have the constitution of a Vulcan and she could have seriously hurt him.

She might have seriously hurt him anyway. Regretting what she had done was pointless. Emotions were pointless. There was nothing she could do to change what had already happened. She could only try and reduce the fallout.

As for what was to come? Saaris was scared that he would hate her or worse be afraid of her when he awoke. Her own emotions and thoughts were already so out of control she honestly didn't know how she would react or if she would be able to deal with it.

This whole ordeal had been the worst experience of her entire life. It had started with the attack on the _Evergreen_ and while it seemed that it was over for the others, she was still going through it.

She knew that it wasn't true that they were all still suffering in their own way, but she felt like her whole psyche was unravelling and coming apart.

Saaris' attention was drawn from her own conflicted thoughts and onto Schaffer as his left arm twitched before he moved it, reaching for his head.

He made a sound of pain as he slipped his hand between his head and the pillow to give the back his head a rub. His eyes then opened and locked onto hers.

It was time for her to face what she had done. She wouldn't lie or try and deflect the blame. She would tell him the truth.

"What happened?" he asked clearly confused.

"You fell and were knocked unconscious," Saaris responded, reluctant to tell him too much too quickly.

He slowly sat up. "How did that happen?" he asked. "And why didn't you take me to sickbay?"

"It was my fault," she said, choking down an uncomfortable feeling of intense sorrow. "I pushed you and you fell."

His gaze fell on the heap of debris that had been swept up into a large pile in the corner. "I think I remember," he said, rubbing his head again.

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "There's no excuse for what I did." As she spoke it became increasingly more difficult for her to control her emotions. She felt her breath grow short and rapid as her heart began to pump hard in her chest. She lowered her gaze, before closing her eyes tightly shut.

She felt ashamed of herself. She was supposed to be in control and she wasn't. To show emotion was to bring shame not only to herself, but to her people and the memory of Surak.

Schaffer getting up off of the bed didn't escape her attention, despite still having her eyes closed. Sensing that he was near her, she opened them.

What she expected to happen, was meaningless words of comfort. Instead he opened his arms and brought her into a hug.

Saaris stood there for a moment, arms rigid by her sides. She was unsure what she should do. Eventually, she raised her arms and hugged hum back. It was a strange sensation, though she found it oddly comforting.

Schaffer was the first to lower his arms in an attempt to break off the hug, however, Saaris remained firm with her arms wrapped around his back for several more moments before she released him and took a step back.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She looked him right in the eyes as she answered. "I do not know."

"Do you want to be alone?"

"No, I have been spending a lot of my time in solitude as of late and it has not helped at all. It may have made things worse."

"I can stay as long as you need," he offered.

"No, I should not take up any more of your time."

"There's no time to take up. I wasn't planning on doing anything today anyway."

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely, Saaris," he assured her. "Like I said, I can be here as long as you need."

"I appreciate that Doctor," she said. Before reiterating with, "Thank you, Paul."

She really did appreciate it. For him to offer her his support like this, it wasn't something another Vulcan would have done for her. Instead they would have given her some space, believing that was what she both wanted and needed.

Looking back, it was odd. When she had first signed up for Starfleet Academy, she had disliked the other emotional races. It didn't help that most of them were in their late teens, early twenties where as she had been far older having worked previously at the Vulcan Science Academy.

The wash of their emotions all around her had been difficult to deal with, at least at first. Eventually she had become not only accustomed to it, but also found it to some degree comforting.

Now she was experiencing that raw emotion first hand. Her own emotions were flowing out of her like lave out of an active volcano. If not contained and controlled it would prove disastrous for those around her.

Saaris looked back into Paul's eyes. She hadn't noticed before but they were rather pleasant to look at.

"I am going to attempt meditation," she uttered suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Maybe I could join you if that would help?"

She looked at him with surprise. She didn't really know what to say. Instead, her mouth spoke for her. "I would like that," she said.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "One problem. I don't know how," he told her.

"Then you and I are the same," she mused. "I no longer know how to successfully meditate. It has been eluding me."

"Which is what caused this I assume?" he said gesturing at the pile in the corner.

Saaris cast her eyes downward, feeling a new wave of shame

"I'm sorry," Schaffer apologised.

She slowly shook her head. "No, you are correct. Yet another failed attempt at meditation caused my to lose control of my temper. This was the result."

Schaffer stood there uncomfortably rubbing his hands together while while biting his bottom lip. Saaris knew that this action probably meant that there was something on his mind that he wanted to say but lacked the nerve or was afraid it would offend her.

She wanted to know what it was. "Please, tell me what is on your mind?"

"It's nothing," he deflected.

"I can see that it's not nothing. Tell me, I won't be angry or offended."

He looked at her before taking in a deep breath. "Maybe you should go see a psychiatrist or a counsellor or something," he suggested with reservation.

Saaris wanted to dismiss the notion outright. However, she knew that he was only trying to help her. Still, what would an alien psychiatrist know about Vulcans? Nothing or at the very least so little that it might as well be nothing.

She shook her head and decided to dismiss it anyway. "I do not think that will help," she said.

"Then talk to me, I'll listen."

She shrugged a somewhat human gesture. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Tell me how you feel."

"I am not comfortable with discussing my feelings," Saaris said firmly.

"But you're not comfortable with having them either, are you," Schaffer observed.

"Having them is not the issue. All Vulcans have emotions. It's not being in control of them that is. My people have a grasp and understanding of emotion that no other race has.

"So you're very familiar with emotions?" Schaffer asked septically.

"Yes, of course. To properly control emotions, one must understand it or else those same emotions will control you."

"I'm finding that a little hard to believe."

"Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant," Saaris dismissed.

"I'm not calling you a liar," he said quickly. "It's just that this sorta goes against what I know about Vulcans."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly do you know about Vulcans?"

He raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, I admit, apart from the medical side, I know next to nothing about your culture. But from the little I do know, this flies in the face of that. I was taught that Vulcans had no emotions."

"Taught by human teachers that were taught by a human curriculum. You do not know next to nothing, you know nothing. Your ignorance, however, is not unexpected."

He took exception to that. "I'm not ignorant."

"Regarding Vulcans you are," she said. "And that is another thing you humans confuse. Ignorance does not mean stupid, prejudice or idiotic. To be ignorant on a subject is to know little about it."

"Okay, I admit it. I'm ignorant about Vulcans but it's hardly my fault. Your people don't exactly share much, especially in regards to your culture and definitely not when it comes to emotions."

"What is shared is everything that has been deemed relevant."

"Deemed relevant by you," Schaffer retorted.

"No, what the Vulcan High Command deems to be relevant."

He frowned at that response. "You know I meant them and not you personally. You're just being pedantic.

She felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. "Perhaps so," she said forcing it away. "If there is anything you would like to ask me, then ask."

Schaffer went silent as he thought of something. Now he was given the opportunity, he came up empty. "I don't know," he said simply.

"Perhaps you would like to know why we Vulcans are the way we are"

"To subdue your barbaric nature apparently, isn't it?"

"Correct."

"You don't seem barbaric to me," he said.

She pointed out the smashed furniture. "Yes, I am."

Schaffer disagreed. "No, you're not. You're just under a lot of stress and you acted out. You haven't learnt how to vent your frustration properly because you've never had to deal your emotions like this before."

"I attacked you," she reminded him. "My behaviour cannot be excused."

"No it can't," Schaffer agreed, before adding," but we'll find a way to get through this. I'll help you."

"I cannot ask you to give up your time."

"Right now I have all the time in the world to give. I have no assignment yet."

"Neither have I," she said in return. "But one could come at any moment, which is why it isn't a good idea for us to become dependant on one another."

"Who says I'm dependant on you?" Schaffer questioned.

"Perhaps not dependant, but you are obviously emotionally involved. That is certain."

He looked away. "That obvious?"

"Of course it is. It always was since the day we met that there was a physical attraction from you. That developed into an emotional attraction."

"Never heard the term emotionally attracted before," he commented. "But I guess you're right."

"I am correct in this observation and you know it as well," she said. "And it, unfortunately, goes both ways. If one or both of us were re-assigned then neither of us would be pleased about it."

"Then we should request an extended leave of absence," he suggested. "I think they would accept the request considering the circumstances."

"Thank you," she said with gratitude. "You really don't have to do any of this."

"Yes, I do. You're in need and I want to help." Schaffer turned and looked over at the pile of debris. "First though, we should sort that mess out. Then we'll send the leave requests together."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

" _Periphery_ requesting permission to land," Olivia Bartlett said over the comm-link to the planetary space port.

The reply came quickly. _"Permission granted, proceed to pad three and enjoy your stay at the New Loknar colony. Out."_

"Confirmed, approaching pad three. Out."

Olivia leant back while Joshua brought the hefty cargo ship in to land on the pad.

"One thousand metres," Joshua said aloud.

"Incoming at one-fifty metres per second," Olivia added. "Slow it down to one-hundred."

"When I get to five-hundred metres."

"Remember the fines we've been getting lately for speeding?" Olivia questioned unimpressed. "One-hundred, now. Come on, you used to be good at this, what happened?"

"Fine, slowing our approach" Joshua mumbled. "Takes so long, though."

She ignored his childishness and focused on the readout. "When we're at five-hundred metres, bring us down to fifty mps."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "Then at two-fifty, slow to twenty-five mps, I know the regulations."

"Yeah, you do, so follow them."

"I am," he said. "Look, I'm now slowing to fifty and continuing to decelerate. We'll hit twenty-five at two-fifty."

"Good," she said. "I just wish we didn't have to go through this every time we did a planetary landing these days."

"Oh, believe me, so do I, but here you are complaining at me again."

She punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow," he said rubbing it. "Don't hit the pilot, do you want us to crash or something?"

"Sometimes, Joshua, sometimes."

He glanced nervously at her. "I don't know how to take that."

"With good humour, Joshua. Now you're coming in a bit steep. Start levelling us off."

"It's fine, stop worrying," he said, making the correction. "See, we're coming in to the last hundred metres. Slowing to five metres per second."

"Landing gear?" Olivia said.

He sighed in annoyance. "Yes, yes, deploying," he said as he keyed in the command.

The cargoship slowed as it came into land, its landing gear unfolded from the undercarriage just before it finally set down on the large pad.

He turned to his wife. "See? Safe and sound and securely put down, now turn that frown upside down," he rhymed.

"This time," she mused standing up out of her seat. "And also, you rhymed down with down, that's lazy."

Joshua corrected her. "Actually, I rhymed sound with down, then frown with down."

"You still-" she paused. "Forget it. Come on, let's get the cargo off the ship."

"Right behind you," he said with a satisfied smirk.

* * *

It took a good four hours to get all of the cargo off of the ship and catalogued by the port. It was always a slow process, but depending on the port it sometimes went even slower.

But they were glad it was out of the way, though there wasn't any cargo to transport from here, at least not at the moment which meant that they would have a few days to relax a little and look around the colony.

New Loknar was primarily Andorian, though there were people from other races, some of which none of them recognised. It didn't bother them, though. They were more focused on taking a look around the shopping market which lay in the centre of the colony

Cayan was interested in finding a new flow regulator to replace the one that was on the fritz. He wasn't hopeful that he would actually find one, but he knew he might as well take a look just in case.

The other four were simply wandering, mainly just to take in the culture but also to see if anything in the market caught their interest.

"Look at that," Charlotte, their medic said pointing.

The others looked at where she was pointing, which was a stall selling what appeared to be some kind of pottery, and glass sculptures.

Charlotte moved over to the stall. "These are really beautiful," she said looking at a coloured glass swan. Or at least it looked like a swan. "Did you make these yourself?" she asked the Andorian woman stood at the stall.

"Yes," she said. "Using old Andorian techniques."

Charlotte took a closer look at the selection. "If only I weren't living on a cargo ship I would pick one of these up, but it would get broken."

"These are very versatile. This is Andorian glass, not that weak brittle glass from other worlds."

"I'll think about it and come back," Charlotte said.

"I'll be here today and tomorrow," the woman said.

"Then I'll try and be back either later today or tomorrow."

"I hope you choose to buy one of my pieces. Have a good day."

"You too."

Charlotte rejoined the group. "Anything caught your attention?"

"Not me," Joshua said. "Maybe we should go find Cayan, help him find that new part."

"Where's he looking?" Olivia asked.

"He's checking the parts exchange centre as there's no way to acquisition the part."

"If he doesn't find one?" Mira asked.

"Then we'll be heading over to that starbase."

Mira smiled at that. "Have we got any transport jobs, yet?"

"None and I'm not expecting any," he said. "There's a lot being brought here, but not much going out. At least not right now."

Their attention was drawn to the large government building in the centre of the city. A small fleet of small police craft exited and flew overhead, out towards the woodlands that lay outside the city.

"I wonder what's going on?" Mira questioned.

"I don't know," Joshua said, keeping his eyes on the craft until they fell out of sight. "But that doesn't look good, does it."

* * *

Captain Amaranta Herrera stepped through the sliding doors into engineering deck of the _U.S.S. Shaandra_ , a place she had only ever been in twice before and just like those times, she felt the layout a little jarring.

The main cylindrical engine core ran up several decks above her and a few below. There were three sections that were split up by spheres that resembled a segmented orange.

She turned her gaze from the core and looked around at the various technicians that were working on various control panels and conduits. Herrera then noticed someone approach from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see it was Kessel Grendar, the Denobulan chief engineer.

"Evening Captain," he greeted. "Nice to see you down here."

She shook his hand, since he offered it. "Just wanted to see how things were going down here?"

"A lot of damage, but we should be done within the next day or so. Of course, then we have to do some quick tests, but she'll pull through. Of course there are other issues that need dealing with that will take a lot longer to iron out."

Herrera nodded, knowing exactly what he was referring to. The shields had a weak spot between the nacelles. Thus far she didn't know what had caused it, but she wanted to find out.

"What was the issue with the shields?" she asked taking a quick glance around the deck. Their battle with the Klingon cruiser preceding, during and after the rescue of the crew had wrought quite a bit of damage on the ship. A lot of systems had ended up needing to be both repaired or replaced. But as expected, her engineer was on top of it.

He shook his head in initial response to her question, before adding, "I've been looking into it and also been discussing it with the folks who designed the new warp systems. The problem is that we're also using a newer shielding technology and the two aren't playing nice. Luckily we might be able to downgrade the shields to the older tech, but it will take a bit of work."

"I don't like the idea of downgrading."

"We will have to until the issue has been resolved."

"How did this even happen in the first place?"

"Two separate projects. The new shields work fantastically with the old engines, no compatibility issues whatsoever. It's the same with the new nacelle coils. They work fine with the older shield type, just not the new ones."

"Several coils were burned out and damaged," Herrera pointed out. "Couldn't we simply replace them with the older type?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry, but that would require extensive reworking of the nacelles and that would take months. The shields can be done in less than a week."

"Why so fast?"

"It all fits in the same holes," Grendar said, putting it as simply as he could. "The coils on the otherhand don't."

"At least they had enough foresight for that. Pity they didn't talk to each other to see if there would be any issues."

"You know how they can get. Too focused on their own thing and don't think about how it might work with other new tech. They put on their blinders and simply don't talk to each other."

"Typical engineers," she mused.

"I take exception to that."

"I meant it more towards those that sit behind desks, not you more practical field engineers. You guys know what it's like out here, they don't."

"In that case, I agree. But that's progress for you."

"Progress that ends up nearly getting our ship destroyed because of a simple oversight."

"New tech always has a rough start, but it always gets refined," Grendar pointed out. "We're the test for this technology, remember?"

"I remember. Along with a few other ships," Herrera said. "I wonder if they're having the same problems?"

"Yeah. I have been wondering that too."

"You could ask them?" she suggested. "An exchange would probably be beneficial."

"That's actually a good idea," Grendar agreed. "We would have to put it through command, first, though."

"Of course, Commander. I won't keep you," she said. "If you need me, I'll be on the station."

"That's where I'll be in a few hours," Grendar told her with a smile. "There's this nice bar that I found."

"What's it called?"

"I have no idea. But I know where it is."

"And where is it?"

"I don't know from here, but once I get on the station I can find my way too it."

"I'm glad you're an engineer and not a navigator," Herrera mused. "Later, Commander," she said before she turned and headed for the nearest turbolift.

She stepped inside and without thinking, she reached for the control handle that wasn't there, something she still did out of instinct even though she had been on this ship a few months now.

She gripped her hands behind her back and simply spoke her destination. "Airlock Three."

The elevator began to move sideways, then up one deck before the twin doors slid open. Herrera stepped out and made her way to the airlock where two security officers were on duty. They exchanged pleasantries as she went past through the docking umbilical and onto the station, where she again exchanged pleasantries with two more security officers.

That's when the communicator on her lower back chirped. She grabbed it and flipped it open before bringing it to her mouth. "Herrera here."

" _This is Thalon,_ " the voice on the other side said. _"How are the repairs going?"_

"Still underway, sir."

" _So no chance of being able to launch within the next few hours?"_

"Sorry sir, but even if we were to pack up now and put everything back together, it would take more than a few hours."

" _I see. Looks like I'll be sending the_ London _out again."_

"Is something wrong, sir?"

" _I hope not. Speak with you later, Captain."_

"You too, Admiral." She closed the communicator and put it away wondering what was going on.

* * *

Commander Arie Cayman stepped onto the bridge of the _USS London_ and quickly took her seat at the tactical station.

"Sorry for my tardiness," she said to Captain Anthi.

"You're not late, Commander. In fact you're right on time. I'll explain the situation as soon as we're underway."

"Understood," Arie acknowledged.

Captain Anthee pressed down the comns button on the panel that lay on the arm of her chair. "Bridge to engineering."

" _Engineering B'sadreck here,"_ The chief engineer responded.

"I hope we're ready to get underway?"

" _The main systems are all online. Need to wait for the warp core to warm up though before taking her to warp,"_ he reported.

"Well, we'll be using impulse until we're out of range of the station. Hope that's long enough."

" _I'll try and make it work in the time allotted,"_ the engineer replied.

"Very good." Anthee turned to communications after deactivating the comms. "Inform dock control that we're ready to depart."

"Yes, Captain."

"Helm, as soon as we're cleared and the doors are open, take us out."

"Acknowledged."

Anthee crossed one leg over the other as she sat back. "As soon as we're clear of the station set course for the New Loknar colony."

* * *

Mira and Charlotte had headed home back to the ship while Joshua and Olivia went to the requisitions office to see if he had got the part he wanted.

If they couldn't get it here, then they would have to get it elsewhere. The nearby starbase which lay several hours from here was a good bet, but also not certain. They knew they might end up having to requisition the part for delivery, which out here, could prove costly. Very costly.

As they stepped up to the building, they found Cayan stepping out looking rather disappointed.

"They didn't have any I take it?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah, they did," Cayan said. "But they aren't rated for our ship."

Joshua was confused. "It's a flow regulator, so can't we just adjust it?"

"I wish we could," Cayan said. "But our ship's too big. None of the ones they had can deal with the flow rate of our engines. We'll either have to get one from that starbase or order one."

Joshua cringe. "It'll be pricey if we have to order."

"Not as pricey as blowing out our warp coils," Cayan pointed out. "Which could happen if we're not careful."

"I see your point," Joshua grumbled. "We should have grabbed one when we got those upgrades to the shields and weapons."

"Maybe, but it was working fine at the time so there was no point in changing it," Cayan pointed out.

Joshua knew he was right. He just wished the regulator had broken earlier, before they had come out to the back end of space.

"Well we should probably get going, then," Joshua said. "Make our way to that starbase and see if we can get the part from there."

"Let's go," Olivia agreed. "We don't have any deliveries to make from here, do we?"

"Nothing came through," Joshua said with a sigh. "A lot coming here, but not a lot going out."

"Then let's get back to the ship and get to that space station. We don't really want to be leaving it any longer."

The three of them headed back to the ship, which they could easily see in the distance. Even though they'd had the ship a good few years now, it still amazed them how big it looked from the outside. Even now it was a lot bigger than most of the structures in the settlement, not counting the central government building. Most of the ship's interior was taken up by cargo space, which there was a lot of.

They stepped through an archway and into the spaceport heading straight towards the platform their ship was parked on.

As they approached the rear of the ship, the hatch opened forming a ramp. The three of them started making their way up to the cargo hold when Cayan both heard and smelt something.

He glanced around to see a small unusual looking alien stood there with a luminescent cube in his left hand and some kind of weapon in his right.

"Do not move," the alien said in a commanding tone.

Both Olivia and Joshua stopped in their tracks and turned around.

"Do not reach for a weapon or I will shoot," the alien threatened.

The three of them raised their arms over their head while the alien approached them both slowly and cautiously.

"What do you want with us?" Joshua demanded.

"I require transport," the alien said. "I need you to assist me in leaving this planet."

Olivia glanced at her husband before asking, "Why not just book a flight?"

"I do not have any money."

"We don't use money," Joshua said. "We use a credits based system."

The alien was dismissive. "No matter what you call it, I do not have the currency required to book passage."

"So you want us to take you by force?" Olivia questioned in disgust. "You could have tried asking before pulling out the weapon."

"I am sorry, but I have no choice. Now turn around and move into your ship slowly."

As the three slowly turned on their heels, a beam of white energy shot passed them, striking the alien in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Mira moved out from behind the large cargo lifter in the bay, a laser pistol in hand. She gripped the front and twisted it to maximum setting before pointing it back at the alien, who was sitting back up.

He went to grab his cube, which he managed before Mira shouted at him.

"Who said you could move!?" she yelled. "The authorities are on their way, so don't do anything, understand?"

The alien looked at her. "I require passage off of this planet before it is too late."

"Tough, you're not going anywhere."

"You do not understand."

"Don't explain it to me, explain it to the cops."

The other's attention was drawn to three patrol vehicles as the approached the ship. Mira kept her eyes firmly on the small alien, who clutched the cube as though it were something very important.

The three small patrol vehicles landed behind the ship, multiple colony police officers stepped out, all clutching their weapons, pointed directly at the alien, which they quickly surrounded. Once he was apprehended, two officers approached them.

"Good job," the Andorian officer said. "Slippery one, this one."

"Giving you trouble?" Joshua joked humourlessly. Truth was he was still shaken up over what had just happened

"Yeah, you could say that. People are on edge over Corvin."

None of them knew what he was talking about, though they had been there just a few weeks ago.

"What happened to Corvin?" Joshua asked.

"All the settlements were wiped out," he said rubbing his eyes. "This guy might be connected."

The other Andorian officer didn't look too pleased with how much his partner was giving away. "We won't take any more of your time," he said as he nudged his fellow officer on the arm.

Olivia cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to them. "We were going to leave, is that okay, or do you need us for something?"

"That won't be necessary," the officer said. "You can go when ready."

"Thanks," Olivia said.

They watched as the officers departed with the alien in custody.

Cayan was the first to head up the ramp. "That's enough for one day," he said.

Mira agreed. "Yeah, I think we should all call it a night."

"Definitely," Joshua concurred.

The rest of them headed up the ramp and with a press of a button it raised and sealed shut behind them.

Joshua stopped Mira. "How did you know?" he asked, referring to her quick action.

"Caught him on the ship's exterior surveillance system snooping around," she explained. "When I saw him trying to gain access through one of the landing struts I called the authorities. Then when I saw you approaching, he slipped out of sight and I thought he might try something, so I grabbed the old laser pistol."

"About that," he said looking down at the weapon in her hand. "Put it back onto the lowest setting, please."

She gripped the barrel and twisted it.

"Now, put it back in the locker."

She mocked a salute. "Aye aye, Captain."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna check later. There better be four pistols in that locker and that one better be among them."

"Calm down, I'm going," she said as she turned on her heels and strode off.

Joshua checked that the rear door was fully sealed and did a quick bioscan of the hold to make sure his was the only one before heading upstairs out of the cargobay.

It wasn't until he was climbing into bed with his wife that the muffled sounds of explosions began.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The _USS London_ dropped out of warp as it entered the small planetary system where the Andorian colony world of New Loknar was located. The planet grew larger in their viewscreen as they approached at high impulse. At first glance, nothing seemed to be amiss, but this brief sense of serenity was soon destroyed.

Commander Arie Cayman quickly turned from her station. "Picking up weapons fire from orbit directed down towards the planet," she reported. "Ship as of yet unidentified."

Captain Anthee leant forwards in her chair, resting her hands on her knees. "What's our ETA?" she asked.

"Fifteen minutes, ten seconds," the helmsman replied. "At current speed."

"Divert power to the engines," Anthee commanded. "Let's cut that down. We need to stop them before they destroy the colony."

"Aye captain," the officer manning the engineering station acknowledged, making the adjustments.

Anthee stared out of the viewscreen with a heavy frown. "When we're in weapons range of the attacking ship, Divert power to phasers," she commanded. "I want them disabled as soon as possible."

"Aye, Captain," came Arie's response.

She pressed a few buttons on her panel and began to charge the phaser banks so they would be ready once they were in range. With energy currently being put into the engines, the charge time was slower, but she was confident that they would be ready to engage the moment they were in range.

"Three minutes," the helmsman called out.

"Any change?" Anthee asked, looking to Arie.

"They have raised shields," she reported. "They may be preparing to engage us."

"Good," the captain said. "As long as it gets their attention off of the planet."

"They're altering course," Arie then informed her, looking at her readout. "Coming about to engage."

Anthee glanced to the engineering station. "Divert power to shields." She looked over at the commander. "Any idea on their weapons?"

"From the readings I'm getting, they may be the same weapon type used to destroy the colonies on Corvin," Arie reported. "Will need more data to confirm."

"Considering they were firing on the planet, I think we can safely make the connection," Anthee said.

"This might be another Gorn situation," Arie pointed out. "We might be unwittingly trespassing on their territory."

"Then they should tell us that instead of attacking," Anthee snapped. "There's no excuse if you're an advanced civilization to attack first unprovoked." She then calmed and turned to communications, understanding that there might be some truth to what her executive officer had said. "Hail them. Let's see if we can stop this here and now."

"Yes, captain."

"They're in weapons range," Arie informed the captain.

"Hold fire," Anthee commanded. "Any response to hails?"

"Not yet," the communications officer responded.

"At least they're not shooting," the helmsman said just as a streak of energy shot out of the enemy ship and struck their shields.

"You were saying?" Captain Anthee asked the helmsman, before turning to the engineering station. "Damage?"

"Minimal impact on our shields," he reported.

"Their weapons don't appear to be very effective against us," Arie added.

"Let's give them a taste of what we can do," the captain said. "Fire phasers at half power."

"Locking phasers. Firing."

Twin beams shot out of the lower saucer of the starship and struck the enemy ship's shields hard.

"They won't stand up to much of that," Arie informed the captain. "They're firing torpedoes," she then called out quickly.

The ship shuddered from the impact but they did little damage, which the engineer reported. "Those pack more of a punch captain, but still minimal damage to our shields," he said.

The captain didn't want to get too confident. "Return fire. Drop their shields then disable their weapons. Let's see if they're willing to talk then."

"Firing," the commander reported. "Direct hit. They won't take much of this, their shield strength is already down forty percent, Captain."

"Then let's get this over with," Anthee said. "They have a lot to answer for."

The enemy vessel fired back at them, doing barely any damage. The _London_ returned fire with three twin phaser blasts, the third strike knocked out the enemy ship's shields. They immediately broke orbit.

Commander Cayman reported on this. "Looks like they're trying to flee, Captain."

"Knock their engines out. They need to answer for their unwarranted attack."

"Targeting. Firing."

Once again, twin phaser beams shot out of the front of the _London_ and struck the rear of the enemy ship.

"Their main sub-light engines are offline," Arie reported. "Looks like they're using thrusters to come about. They're charging forward weapons."

Anthee shook her head in disbelief. "They can't possibly hope to win." She looked back at communications. "Hail them."

"Yes, Captain."

Anthee then looked at Arie. "Disable their weapons."

"Yes, Captain. Targeting."

The communications officer looked around to face the captain. "Still no response," he said.

The captain could barely believe it. They were clearly no match, yet they still fought despite their obvious pending defeat. "Open all frequencies," she ordered. "They might not want to respond, but let's hope they're willing to listen."

"Frequencies open."

"This is Captain Anthee of the Federation Starship _London_. Stand down, you cannot win. Avoid destruction and surrender."

Arie looked at a power build up on the enemy ship. "They're preparing to go to warp, Captain," she warned.

It took a moment for the captain to realise that the enemy ship was pointed right at them.

"They'll destroy us both," the helmsman said, verbalizing the everyone's thoughts.

"Evasive," Anthee commanded, desperately hoping that they weren't suicidal.

The helmsman was already moving the ship out of the way before she finished the command. A few officers on the bridge closed their eyes and braced themselves for what could be the end. Instead, the enemy vessel skimmed past them as they leapt into warp causing the _London_ to shudder from their wake.

The helmsman wiped his brow. "That was close, really close."

The navigator concurred. "Just short of one-hundred metres clearance," he said.

Anthee turned to Arie, trying to hide the fact that she was a little shaken. "I take it they're gone?"

"They're accelerating out of the system," Arie confirmed. "Do we pursue?"

The captain really wanted to, but there were people down on the planet that needed help and she knew helping them was more important at that moment. "No," she said, turning back to communications. "Contact the surface and have sickbay prepared for injured."

"Yes, Captain."

Anthee turned to Arie. "Commander Cayman, I want you to organise landing parties to help down there."

Arie rose up from her station. "Aye, captain. But what if the unidentified ship has reinforcements?"

"They aren't much of a threat. We kicked their asses. Right now we need to help those down below."

"Understood, Captain." Arie acknowledged.

* * *

The moment the explosions had stopped, the crew of the cargo ship _Periphery_ had headed into the city to help those in need.

It hadn't been immediately apparent to those in the city that it had been an orbital bombardment, but the sensors on their ship had told them that's exactly what it had been. There was little they could really do to help with their meagre medical supplies, but their medic, Charlotte did her best to tend to the wounds of those they found, the others helping her as best they could. Entire sections of the colony had been wiped out, the space port and the surrounding area had gotten off lightly, with only a few destroyed or damaged buildings.

That was partially thanks to the _Periphery_ or rather Mira, who'd had come up with the suggestion of raising the dorsal shields and extending them, the moment the planet's own defensive shield had been quickly overwhelmed. The shield's had lasted a lot longer than they had expected, but after ten minutes they finally collapsed under fire, but thankfully the bombardment had stopped soon after.

Things got a little better when officers from an orbiting Starfleet ship came to help. They didn't tell them that they had driven off the attacking ship, they didn't need to. It was fairly obvious. Instead, they got straight to work in helping people escape collapsed buildings and using their transporters to free those they couldn't reach or move those more seriously injured.

The night turned to day and they kept on working. By early afternoon, Joshua almost collapsed from exhaustion. The officers told them all to go get some rest.

Their ship stood almost untouched apart from a scorch mark along the upper hull where they had taken a glancing blow from the orbital attackers.

It would require attention at some point, but at that moment all any of them wanted was to get some sleep.

* * *

It was a nightmare.

Arie stood there holding out her bloodied hand as the nurse dabbed it down.

She had cut her hand freeing someone from underneath some rubble. She had saved them, but not the others around him who had been crushed and were already dead by the time they had arrived.

The pain in her hand was almost secondary to the pounding of her head. Overexertion, little sleep and not enough water to drink had all accumulated into a dehydrated and very unhappy first officer.

But it wasn't just her. She could see the same look in everyone's faces. They were all tired, but they pushed on.

Arie's thoughts were interrupted as her communicator began to beep. She reached around with her free hand, grabbed it and flipped it open.

"Cayman here."

" _This is the Captain. I need you to take a team to the central government building. They're holding an alien that might know what's going on."_

"Have they been able to get anything out of him?" Arie asked.

" _Unfortunately, no. He did become very agitated during the attack, but that is to be expected."_

Arie looked towards the tall central building which appeared to be on the order of twenty storeys high. Not a particularly large building, but most definitely the biggest thing around. Well, apart from the large cargoship over by the space port.

The structure itself had taken a few hits, with scorching and a large hole torn through the side. It had seen better days and might even have to be torn down.

She looked at the medic who as bandaging their hand as they finished. She lowered her hand and turned her attention back to the communicator. "I take it the cells were unaffected during the attack?" she questioned.

" _Seems that way,"_ the captain said. _"Why was the main municipal building hit?"_

"Yes and it looks pretty bad," Arie informed her.

" _Nevertheless, I need you there questioning him while I contact Starbase 59."_

"I'll get a team and head over there as soon as I can, Captain."

" _Excellent, Anthee out."_

Arie put her communicator away and looked at her bandaged hand.

The medic addressed her. "You should really get back to the ship and have that seen to properly."

"It can wait an hour or two," Arie replied. "I still have work to do down here."

"Good luck with the questioning," he said.

"It's the one I'll be questioning that'll need the luck," Arie said as she moved off towards two of her security officers who were taking a short break. "Shyth, Thessa, with me."

The two Andorians nodded and followed her towards the central building. It wasn't a long walk from where they were and within ten minutes they were at the doors.

The two Andorian guards manning the entrance let them right in with little more than a nod.

A police officer approached them. "You're here about the alien I take it?"

Arie confirmed. "That's right."

"I'll take you to see Captain Theleck," he said, promptly taking them to the office.

The officer lightly tapped on the door before pushing it open.

The police captain looked up from his computer monitor, his antennae twitching at the sight of the Starfleet officers. Arie wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one, despite living with Andorians for the last year.

He seemed pleasant enough, regardless. "Good to see you," the police captain said standing up. "I'll not waste your time. Follow me, I'll take you to the prisoner."

They headed straight back out of the office and down a set of stairs into the holding area where they came to a stop outside a cell where a small alien sat.

"He had a device on him," the captain mentioned. "Some kind of glowing cube. Have no idea what it does and he won't tell us."

Arie nodded. "It would be best if we took the cube off of your hands and had it analysed aboard the _London_."

The captain agreed wholeheartedly. "That's great because I don't really want the thing down here. For all I know it could be a bomb that could wipe this town off of the face of the planet."

"Bring it here," Arie said.

"Okay," he said, eagerly moving off.

Not five minutes later he was back with the glowing cube in hand. It was roughly eight centimetres cubed and didn't particularly look threatening, then again neither did a photon torpedo until it was flying at you.

He gave her the strange object and she took a good look at it. She had expected it to be warm but it didn't seem to have any heat to it at all. She studied it for a few more moments before stepping right up to the cell door.

The alien looked up at her, then to the cube, which held his gaze.

"You're coming with us," Arie said, seeing what his response would be.

He didn't seem at all concerned or surprised by this. "Very well," he said standing up. "I will obey."

Arie had expected at least some resistance. She wished it was welcome that he was willing to come with them so easily, but his easiness and near eagerness put her on guard.

She gestured to her two officers. "Get him ready for transfer to the ship. I'm going to have the lab take a look at this device."

The two security officers acknowledged and Arie moved off out of the building still clutching onto the device.

She pulled out her communicator, then looked back at the device before flipping it open. " _London_ , this is Commander Cayman. Requesting a shuttle, I have an unknown device here and I don't want to risk beaming it."

" _Acknowledged,"_ came the response from Captain Anthee. _"_ _A shuttle will be dispatched shortly, Commander."_

"Thanks, Cayman out." She put the communicator away and stared at the cubic device. In some ways, it was rather pretty. She hadn't noticed when she had first picked it up, but the sides weren't a solid colour. Instead, they seemed to pulsate softly and the colours swirled and changed.

Her gaze moved passed the cube and onto her bandaged hand. Once she had given the cube to their chief science officer, she would have to go to sickbay and have her hand seen to.

First, though, she would have to wait for the shuttle to arrive.

* * *

"You should really be careful," doctor Naren said to Arie as he scanned her hand in the sickbay of the _London_. "You should have come to see me as soon as possible."

"You had more pressing issues," she said looking at the injured civilians that filled the room. There were many injured from the attack and she felt that a cut hand was a far second to the needs of those caught up in the attack.

"This still needed proper attention," he argued.

"Not as much as these people do."

"Don't argue," Naren said as he wrapped her hand again. "Keep this on for the next day or so until it heals a little more, then I'll be able to do the rest. Leaving it only creates more work for me, understand?"

"Thanks, doc," Arie said, flexing her hand.

The doors to sickbay slid open and Captain Anthee stepped inside and made a beeline straight to Arie. "Everything alright, Commander?" she asked, her attention going to her hand.

Arie nodded. "Just a cut," she said, raising her arm. "Though the doctor here is acting as though it was nearly amputated."

Doctor Naren folded his arms. "The longer you leave these things, the more difficult it makes my job, I told you that."

Arie turned her full attention to the captain. "Anything you need, Captain?"

"Firstly, Lieutenant Beveth is taking a good look at that cube."

"Discovered anything yet?"

"Absolutely nothing. We've been unable to penetrate its shell so far."

"And the second thing?" Arie asked, knowing that it was probably going to be regarding their guest.

The captain confirmed it. "The alien in the brig."

"Have you gone to speak with him, yet?" Arie asked her.

"Not yet, that's why I'm here. We need to have a little talk with with him."

"Let's hope he's willing."

"He better be," Anthee said sharply. "Let's not keep him waiting, come on."

The both of them left sickbay and took a short turbolift ride to the brig. The two of them found the alien of unknown origin sat in his small cell exactly as they had expected.

He seemed disinterested in them at first, at least until the captain began to glare. Only then did he raise his head and look back at them. with his black eyes and emotionless face.

The captain began with the questioning. "Were you at Corvin?" she asked, getting right to it.

The alien answered quickly though dispassionately. "I do not know what that is, please elaborate?"

"A colony world that was destroyed," Anthee said, her tone sharp. "A ship landed on the outskirts. Next thing we know, all settlements have been wiped out. Why is that?"

The alien answered only the first question. "I have been to one of your worlds, yes. I stopped there briefly to recharge my ship's energy capacitors."

The captain repeated her question. "Why was it destroyed?"

"It is unfortunate that it was attacked. However, it was not intended. I had hoped that they had not known where I was. It seems I was mistaken."

Captain Anthee didn't like that answer. She wanted more. "Every single settlement on that planet was wiped out. We're presuming it was the same ship that attacked this colony, the same ship we managed to drive off. I want to know why?"

"I was unaware that they destroyed your other colony. Again, it is unfortunate. I am sorry," the alien said showing some emotion for the first time. He seemed genuine in his remorse for what had happened. Though there was no way to tell whether he meant it or not. There was actually no way to tell whether it was actually even a he. They were assuming based on its lower register of voice.

They both remained sceptical of whether he was telling them the truth or not. Arie continued on with the line of questioning started by her captain. "Who are they and what do they want with you?"

"It is a difficult question to answer," the alien said. "They are a military group that has taken control of my home planet."

"They are a hostile foreign power that conquered your world?" Arie asked, wanting clarification.

"No, they are the military of my home planet. They destroyed the body of our queen, claiming she was a false leader and took control of the home planet."

"Why are they after you?" Arie asked. "There has to be a reason."

"I was the queen's personal bodyguard," came his unsatisfactory answer.

"There has to be more to it than that," Captain Anthee said. "You have been driven off and on your own, you're not a threat. So why chase you and why obliterate entire settlements to try and kill you?"

The alien looked away from them. "I cannot say more."

"What is your home world's name?" Arie asked.

He glanced at them, then back ahead at the wall. "Draya," he said.

Anthee slowly shook her head. "Not a world I'm familiar with."

The alien seemed perplexed. "Why would you have heard of it? We have not yet made contact."

Anthee glared at him. "Your people have made contact now and it was by destroying one of our colony worlds, which is an act of war."

The alien started to grow agitated. "It is not my people's fault. Do not punish the innocent because of the crimes of the guilty."

Arie attempted to console him. "Don't worry, we're not the type to jump into war at the drop of a hat. We just want to understand why a colony was destroyed and why another was attacked. Can you help us understand why?"

"I have told you. They were in pursuit of me."

"But why destroy all those settlements?" the Captain questioned, growing agitated herself. "Was it to do with that device you had on you?"

The alien turned completely away this time, facing his back to them. "I will answer no more questions."

"What is the device?" Anthee asked more forcefully.

"I shall not answer," the alien repeated.

"And if we decide to throw it out of an airlock?" the captain questioned.

The alien looked at her in alarm, but then quickly settled down. "You would be just inviting more destruction to this world," he said rather calmly. "I will answer no more questions."

Captain Anthee disagreed. "You'll answer whatever question I give to you."

The alien stood firm. "You can ask, but I decide if I answer."

"What is the device, what is its purpose?" the captain demanded.

He said nothing.

"Does it pose a threat to this ship?" Anthee demanded hotly.

Still no response.

"At the very least, tell us if it's dangerous?" Arie questioned, keeping her tone softer than her captain's.

He looked at them. "No, it is not dangerous. That is all I will say."

Sensing that they wouldn't get anything more from him, the two left the brig and stepped out into the corridor.

The captain massaged the roots of her antennae for a few moments before she looked up and addressed Arie. "He's hiding something, what I want to know is what and why."

"Got any other ideas?" Arie asked.

"One," the captain said. "He tried to hijack a cargoship before the attack. Go see if they know anything."

"You honestly think they will?" Arie asked not at all believing that the alien would have willingly blabbed to some cargo crew what he refused to tell them.

"It's doubtful," the captain agreed, "but maybe he let something slip. He wanted their ship for a reason, maybe he gave them a destination. That in itself could tell us something."

"It could," Arie agreed, though remaining pessimistic. "Anything else?"

"If they don't know anything then we'll have to keep trying to and pry it out of our prisoner again until the _Ishimura_ arrives."

The commander's brow raised in surprise. "The _Ishimura_ is nearby?"

"No, they're a day away, but they're able to deal with this situation better than we can, being a cruiser."

"I thought she was a carrier?"

"Hybrid," Anthee clarified. "Still, they'll be able to deal with this better than us. They have the facilities that we don't and the resources if that ship returns with help."

"Understood, captain."

"Let's hope no more colonies are attacked in the meantime."

Arie nodded glumly. "Let's hope," she agreed. "We may have to request that future colonization efforts to be denied until we figure out what in the hell is actually going on."

"Agreed. Oh, one moment," the captain called out as Arie turned to leave. "Go see the crew of the cargoship tomorrow. Right now you deserve some rest."

Arie smiled. "Understood, captain."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N** **This is slightly embarrassing, but one of my characters Captain Anthi has been called Anthee for the last few chapters. Whoops.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

Lying wasn't something that Saaris was used to doing, but at that moment it somehow seemed like the best thing to do.

She was walking in the environmental enclosure with Paul Schaffer and she was pretending that she was enjoying herself. It was in vain though, because she could tell that he did not believe her.

Regardless of how she "felt" the two strode through the park area in near silence Paul occasionally breaking the silence to point something out such as some children playing, a bed of flowers or even a slight glitch in the overhead sky projection near the horizon.

The main issue was that her agoraphobia had gotten worse. Knowing that the vast open area that simulated the outdoors was just an illusion didn't help. In some ways knowing that just beyond the hull was nothing but space made her feel worse.

She kept mentally berating herself. It was illogical to be afraid. Fear itself was illogical in this scenario. She was simply walking. The likelihood of the hull spontaneously rupturing was very unlikely, especially deep enough to affect the enclosure.

As the two of them came to a stop by a pond, Schaffer addressed the issue. "You're not enjoying yourself are you?"

She stared at the still water and answered the only way she knew how. "I am a Vulcan, we do not particularly enjoy anything."

"You know what I mean," he said. "You don't want to be here, I can tell."

"You are right. I don't," she said, her tone sharper than she had intended.

Schaffer was clearly hurt by her reaction, which in turn made Saaris feel bad. She didn't really know how to control herself anymore.

"Do you want to go back to your quarters?" he asked after a few moments.

 _Yes_ was what she wanted to say, but she also didn't want to make this situation more uncomfortable than it already was. "Let us go somewhere else," she said instead.

Schaffer thought for a moment. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

This time Saaris did say, "Yes."

"There're a few places in Starside," Schaffer said taking the lead, Saaris keeping pace beside him as they slowly made their way towards the small internal "city" that housed apartments and various commercial buildings.

It wasn't somewhere that Saaris particularly wanted to go, but she understood the need for her not to lock herself away in her quarters no matter how much she wanted to do just that very thing.

She kept close to Schaffer as they wandered the fake cobbled street which was lined on either side with various establishments. The architecture was a lot more romanticised than the mall in the central column. It's aesthetic was ruined a bit by the taller buildings that loomed over them, especially the fake horizon where the grass rose up to meet the sky.

Her attention was drawn to Schaffer who was pointing at something. "Hey look, it's N'reinn."

Sure enough, the Caitian was there and she was making her way over to them with a smile.

"Good morning," N'reinn greeted. "Nice to see you both out and about."

While Saaris simply tilted her head forward in a curt nod, Schaffer smiled and verbally replied. "Yeah, we're looking for a place to eat," he told her.

"There're a couple of places around here," N'reinn told them. "Depends on what you're looking for. There's Entrenta's which is more fine dining, then there's The White Star, which is a bar and restaurant."

Schaffer looked down at his plain tunic. "I don't think we're dressed for Entrenta's, so I guess The White Star it is."

"I can show you the way," N'reinn offered. "I've been there before with my friend Arie."

Saaris tilted her head in the affirmative. "That would be appreciated," she said. "Would you like to join us?"

Judging by the look on Schaffer's face, Saaris could tell that he didn't like the idea of a third person joining them, which was odd. He had assured her that this was definitely not a date, so a friend having a meal with them shouldn't have been an issue.

Thankfully, for him at least, N'reinn declined. "Sorry, but my shift starts soon, so I can't hang about. Come on, I'll show you the place."

Both the Human and the Vulcan followed the Caitian on and down another street stopping in front of the establishment. The new station security chief waved as she headed off and the two made their way inside The White Star and took their seats by the large window that looked out into the street.

The two of them began to peruse the electronic menu, or rather Schaffer did. It took a matter of moments for Saaris to choose her salad meal and water with a press of a button, while he searched through the options.

Finally, he too settled on the salad meal and a glass of orange juice, knowing that he probably should stick to vegetarian, probably so that he did not offend her, which she would not have been.

Still, when the meals did arrive not long after, Saaris did appreciate that he had gone vegan for her sake, though she didn't verbalize this. As was her nature she kept her feelings close to her chest even if these days those feelings were closer to the surface than she would like.

Schaffer then began the small talk that humans so liked to do and Vulcans very much despised. "This is a nice place," he said.

Saaris was almost inclined to simply ignore him and focus on her meal. Instead, she decided to at least try to interact socially. "Yes, it is nice," she said, sounding more awkward than she intended.

"The salad is nice," he added, also sounding a little awkward, which made her feel somewhat better about herself.

Saaris tipped her head affirming her agreement. "I concur."

Schaffer took a quick drink of his orange juice. "So you're just having water?"

"I usually drink water," she said, knowing that he already knew that. "I find a lot of other beverages such as the one you're drinking too severe."

"Severe?" he asked confused. "What do you mean by severe?"

"The taste is too strong for my palette," she explained. "Vulcans do not eat or drink for pleasure, we do it as a means of nourishment."

"Which is why Plomeek Soup and Gespar tastes so bland," Schaffer commented naming the only two Vulcan dishes Saaris suspected he knew.

"Gespar is a delicacy. As a human who has overindulged, you wouldn't understand or appreciate the subtle and dynamic flavours," she told him.

Schaffer smirked at that. "I thought Vulcans didn't eat for pleasure?"

"We do not," Saaris confirmed. "However, that does not mean we do not appreciate the intricacies of flavour which are lost when overdone as most species tend to do."

"You're talking about blandness as though it's something to achieve. I like my food to have flavour."

"Which this salad has an abundance of," Saaris said before taking another bite of lettuce. "It is pleasant without being overbearing. Apart from the tomatoes."

"The tomatoes are fine," Schaffer objected. "In fact, they're the best part of the salad."

"Perhaps, but taste and preference are entirely subjective."

"Well, yeah I suppose," Schaffer said. It was clear that he was not entirely sure how to respond. Probably because it was the truth and anything he said would simply make him look like a contrarian.

Not much was said for the rest of the meal and before long they were back outside on the street.

Schaffer looked at Saaris as they strode down the cobbled road. "Anywhere else you want to go?" he asked her.

She kept her eyes ahead. "No," she said. "I have had-" She paused casting her eyes downwards. She wanted to say "I have had enough for today," but knew it was not at all the right thing to say. Instead, she said, "It was an interesting morning."

"Don't feel bad about it," he said feeling almost apologetically.

"Emotions are irrelevant," she said. "I need to remember that and relearn how to subdue and control them."

He said nothing. She wondered if she had hurt his feelings but it appeared that he was thinking about something.

When he did answer it was to try and prolonging their time together, something she didn't appreciate. "I heard there was an acting troupe who have opened up a theatre and are doing performances. Do you want to see if one is on?"

"No," she replied. "They only do performances in the evening."

"Right," he said. "Well, maybe we could-"

"I appreciate what you are attempting to do, but I should be returning to my quarters to meditate."

"Okay," he accepted.

"I am sorry if it upsets you," she apologised, forcing herself not to feel bad for him. Her feelings were meant to be under control. She shouldn't be out here in her condition, especially not where she could make a fool of herself, which was likely anywhere there were people.

"I'm not upset," he responded. "I understand."

"That is good. I will see you another time."

"Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No, I can find my own way."

With that, she left him. Deep down she felt regretful for the way she acted, but she knew that these were just wayward emotions that should be controlled and should be suppressed. Being out here with him only made things worse.

Perhaps locking herself in her room was the right thing to do after all.

* * *

Commander Arie Cayman materialized outside the main municipal building which not only held the New Loknar colony's government but also their police force. She had slept rather well last night, which she put down to being absolutely worn out.

She was here to ask a few questions to the crew of the cargoship about the strange alien, not that she was expecting them to know anything.

Arie stepped up to the two officers that had gathered the crew of the cargoship. "Are they ready?" she asked them

The young Lieutenant Junior Grade nodded. "Yes, sir, they are sat in the room waiting."

"How many?"

"Five of them," the JG said.

"For that massive Cargoship?" she asked for clarification. "Or did you just bring the five that were involved?"

"There's just five of them on the whole ship," he clarified.

"Got a name?"

"Of the ship?"

"No, of whoever owns it," she clarified.

"Barnett," he said.

The other quickly corrected him. "They're called the Bartlett's, sir."

For a split moment she thought she recognised the name, but then realised that she definitely did know the name. Then the young JG confirmed it.

"One of them looks kinda like you," he commented, then quickly added, "Um, sir."

Arie straightened up. "Very well, you are both dismissed for now."

"You sure?" the JG asked.

"Absolutely. Report to relief operations."

"Understood."

The two security officers nodded and headed off while Arie stood there unsure what to do. The Bartlett's; if they were the same Bartlett's, were her adoptive parents. She had known they had gotten a new ship since they had parted ways, but she hadn't expected them to be here. It was a coincidence that was simply too convenient, especially after receiving the message from Joshua a few days ago.

She calmed herself. It was possible that it wasn't them, except the lieutenant had pretty much confirmed it when he had mentioned one of them looked like her.

Arie clasped her hands behind her back and prepared herself for the meeting that was about to happen.

She raised her hand and hit the button and the door slid open. From the angle she was stood at she couldn't see those inside which in some ways made things worse.

She verbally tried to boost her confidence. "You're the executive officer aboard a starship," she whispered to herself. "You can face them, you've faced far worse."

The truth was that facing them after so long and in this particular situation was not at all how she had wanted the inevitable reunion to go. She had left on bad terms and now that decision had finally caught up with her.

"Hello?" an all too familiar male voice called out through the door. "Is someone there?"

Arie brushed herself down and raised her head. With one foot in front of the other she confidently strode in, or more accurate she tried to exude confidence. On the inside, she was feeling a little more than nervous.

That feeling completely vanished when she saw them sat there at the table. It was replaced by an unexpected feeling of joy, then confusion at who was sat with them.

Mira, her younger sister and Joshua and Olivia her adoptive parents had been expected, what hadn't been expected was Cayan being with them, him being N'reinn's old flame back before and during their Academy days. He hadn't been accepted which had led to the eventual break up between him and N'reinn.

She turned her attention to the last person, a woman she didn't at all recognise and she was clearly confused by the rather shocked reaction of the others.

Arie smiled broadly. "Hello," she said, sitting herself down on the edge of the table. "It's good to see you."

In an instant, Mira was on her feet and wrapping her arms around her older sister in a tight hug. "I've missed you, Marie."

A warm feeling filled her heart. It had been a long time since she had seen her little sister and it had been just as long since she had been called Marie.

She couldn't really remember the exact reason why she had dropped the "M" in her name and started calling herself "Arie". There were memories of another Marie at the Academy by the name of Marie Carmen and a vague recollection of some confusion.

Arie focused back on the here and now and hugged her sister back. "I've missed you as well," she said patting her softly on the back.

They released each other and Mira took a step back, then looked over to Joshua and Olivia.

Joshua was the one who spoke next. "It looks good on you," he said, referring to the red uniform.

"Thanks," Arie said before raising up her sleeves. "Commander," she said showing off her rank braids. "Executive officer of the _London_."

"We heard," Olivia said. "We're proud of you."

Arie decided to give the two of them a good hug as well, starting with Olivia and finishing with Joshua. "So," she began looking at the only one she didn't recognise, "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" she asked him.

Joshua looked over at her. "That is Charlotte Mitchell our medic and this is Cayan P'artenn our engineer, I think you know each other, right?"

Arie nodded looking at the Caitian. "Yeah, it's good to see you again. Me and Kceris always wondered where you'd got to."

Cayan didn't look comfortable. "I decided to forge my own life with a little help."

Arie nodded again before turning her attention back to Joshua. "Well I hate to do this, but there's questions I need to ask."

"About the alien guy, right?" Joshua concluded.

Arie confirmed. "That's right. Did he tell you anything, or give you a destination."

Olivia answered. "Nothing. Just pointed his weapon at us."

"He also had that cube thing," Cayan added.

This was not really what Arie wanted to hear, though it was expected. She already knew of the cube, but not what it was or what it did and she didn't really expect them to know, either. "So there's nothing? No destination or motive?" she asked, again not expecting them to know.

Joshua shook his head. "He was apologetic about trying to commandeer my ship."

"What about the cube thing?" Cayan repeated, not thinking he had been heard earlier.

"Can't discuss it," Arie said firmly standing back up. "Unless you know something about it?"

Joshua shook his head. "Absolutely naff-all."

Mira grabbed her sister by the arm, earning a look of surprise. "You leaving already?" Mira questioned.

Arie relaxed. "I have some time," she said. "Though this area of space is proving dangerous. You should think about getting out of the frontier. It's not safe out here."

Joshua disagreed. "We're out here because of you."

This made Arie suspicious. "How did you even know I was out here in the first place?" she asked. "Ship and personnel movements aren't exactly out there for civilians to find."

Joshua answered. "My friend Marcus Noriega."

"Admiral Noriega?" Arie questioned unimpressed. "He's looking at a court martial if he isn't careful. He shouldn't be giving out the postings and locations of Starfleet personnel. That is confidential information."

Mira grabbed her sister by the hands. "If it wasn't for him we would never have found you."

She stared right into her sister's eyes and felt whatever anger fade away. "This time he did good," she said, before glancing over at Cayan. "Did he tell you anything else?"

Joshua shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Nothing about anyone else stationed out here?"

"No," Olivia said, "Why?"

Arie knew it was hypocritical to bemoan an officer telling a civilian about the posting and location of a starship and do something similar herself, but she felt that this needed to be said. "Kceris is on Overwatch," she said.

Cayan's face turned to one of shock. "She is?"

"Yeah, security chief of the station in fact."

"She is?" he said again. "Out here?"

"Yeah, a bit of a coincidence, huh,"

Joshua thought for a moment. "Maybe not. Cayan's only on my ship because Noriega recommended him."

Cayan looked at him. "Are you saying Noriega had Kceris posted out here?"

Arie disagreed that. "No, because she was on the _Evergreen_ transporting Thalon here before it was blown to hell by the Klingons."

"She was on that ship?" Cayan said jumping up out of his seat. "Was she hurt? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She's security chief of the Starbase now, remember? She's fine."

Cayan relaxed. "But she's okay?"

"She'd be even better if she saw you again," Arie told him. "I know for a fact that she misses you. You should get to Overwatch."

"We've been," Joshua said. "Went there when we were being chased by Orion pirates. We managed to survive thanks to the shields that Marcus hooked us up with."

Arie facepalmed. "Oh god, tell me they're civilian grade and he didn't break any more regulations."

"They're top of the line civilian grade," Joshua said. "Nothing illegal is on my ship."

Mira then asked coyly, "But we do need a new flow regulator. The one we have is on its last legs."

"I'll pull some strings, see if I can get you one," Arie promised. "Just get yourselves to Overwatch. That's where we're headed once the _Ishimura_ gets here."

"Then that's where we're going," Olivia said.

"We'll be stationed in this sector for the foreseeable future," she said, before casting her eyes downwards towards the floor. "And sorry."

"No," Joshua said, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I knew this is what you wanted, but I tried to stop you and only pushed you away."

"That doesn't excuse what I did," Arie said. "I should have stayed in contact but I didn't. I should have done a lot of things but I didn't."

"I guess we both have things to be sorry for," Joshua mused.

"Yeah, I guess we do," Arie agreed. "Listen, I need to report in. Can you give me a moment to contact my ship?"

"Sure," Joshua said.

Arie moved over to the corner of the room and took out her communicator and flipped it open. "Commander Cayman to Captain Anthi."

" _Anthi here,"_

"The cargoship crew knew nothing. No destination. They only commented on the cube and again they don't know what it is."

" _Understood. Return to the ship right away, Commander. Got word that the_ Ishimura _is less than an hour out. I don't want to linger longer than we have to once they get here."_

"Yes, captain."

" _London out."_

Arie closed the communicator shut. "Sorry, but I have to go."

Mira didn't look happy. "We'll see you back at the station then, I guess," she said.

"Yes you will," Arie confirmed. She stepped over to her sister, giving her another hug. She then hugged Olivia then Joshua and shook Cayan's pawed hand. She then turned to the Charlotte the nurse. "Nice meeting you," she said.

"The same, Commander," the nurse said back.

"I'll see you all at the station."

"Bet on it," Joshua promised.

Arie walked out of the room with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. A huge emotional weight had been lifted off of her and she honestly felt a lot better than she had done before stepping into the room.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter** **Twelve**

It had been a real belief to T'kinta that they would be stuck analysing transmissions and cataloguing ingoing and outgoing ships for the foreseeable future. But with the Loknar-class frigate _USS London_ leaving dock once again so soon after arriving at the station and seemingly in a hurry, the Klingon captain had decided to pursue and investigate.

Once they had finally arrived at the Starfleet ship's destination hours later, the following battle between the Federation ship and the unknown ship had been rather pathetic. The unknown had quickly shown it was weak and had fled. T'kinta had then been forced to make a decision. Remain or follow.

She had chosen to follow.

Despite the unknown ship's embarrassing combat prowess it proved to be a hard track. It was almost as though their warp signature was being masked and while it was possible to mask, it wasn't something that could be done easily, especially when maintaining warp seven.

As with when they were following the _London_ , she grew impatient. She hated snooping and felt more like a Romulan instead of an officer of the Klingon Imperial Fleet. It was frustrating.

Finally, after almost eighteen hours the unknown vessel slowed to impulse where it met up with fifteen other ships of the same design, though two were larger. There was some communication between the ships but as it was a direct link, they were unable to intercept.

The ships; except the one they had followed here, had all then turned around on a direct course back towards the system they had come from. It was clear that they wanted to finish off what they had started.

With fifteen ships it would certainly be more of a challenge for the lone Federation ship and should provide her with some entertainment. At least for a short while. Perhaps they would even overcome the Federation ship and destroy them. That would definitely be entertaining.

The trip back took just as long and at one point they were forced out of warp to decloak so that they could not only rest the cloaking device but vent the excess heat they had accumulated while under the stealth field.

T'kinta spent most of this time in the gym working through the tedium and frustration. She was never one to like downtime and this mission was nothing but downtime. She was a woman of action not of espionage.

When they finally dropped out of warp she was ready to see the fireworks when they clashed against the frigate. What she had not expected was another ship to be in orbit and one that appeared to be far better equipped than any frigate.

T'kinta sat and watched as the large Starfleet cruiser broke orbit to intercept the ships with anticipation.

She glanced over to the weapons officer. "Tell me, what class of ship is that?" she asked, wanting to know what kind of fight it would put up. From first glance, it looked like a constitution, but its saucer looked wrong, the nacelle struts were thicker and there was also a shuttle bay at the front as well as the back of the stardrive section.

The reply came swiftly. "Covenant-class," he answered.

"Give me all the information on it," she commanded not having heard of the class of ship before. "Armaments, defence?"

"From intelligence, the Covenant-class is largely built from the Federation-class hull with similar armaments but with an extra rear shuttle bay and no third nacelle."

She had heard of the Federation-class. A class of ship that had been not only planned but constructed and subsequently scorned by the Federation for what it represented. A true battleship, one worthy of fighting.

The weapons officer continued. "I have identified the ship as the _Ishimura_."

"Any data on who commands the ship?" she questioned hoping it was someone she had heard of.

"No information."

The communications officer, Devuk, called over to her. "Captain, the commander of the Starfleet ship is sending out a warning to the aggressors."

"Let us hear it," she said.

There was a brief silence before a male human voice came over the speakers. _"This is Captain Brannon of the_ Federation starship Ishimura. _You are to stand down or_ _you risk_ _be_ _ing_ _fired upon."_

T'kinta liked this captain. He seemed ready to be proactive instead of reactive. Though she knew that this was probably just posturing and that he had no intention of firing the first shot.

"Any response?" she asked.

"None," he responded. It appeared the next thing that would happen was conflict and she was very much looking forward to seeing how it ended.

The aggressive vessels slowed to a stop as did the Federation ship. There they stayed, thoroughly disappointing T'kinta.

"The Federation ship is hailing them," Devuk reported.

"Any response?" she asked.

"None."

She was tempted to decloak and start the battle herself, but she restrained her more base instinct and just sat and waited. They couldn't sit here forever. Someone had to make a move sooner or later.

Thankfully, it was sooner and as T'kinta expected it was the unidentified vessels that made the first move.

"The unknowns are charging weapons," the tactical officer reported.

T'kinta leant forwards in her chair and bared her teeth. She was looking forward to this. She hoped the aggressors showed more combat prowess this time than they had the last otherwise this would prove once again to be a short battle.

Her only regret was that she would not be able to join in and be part of it.

"The unknowns are concentrating their fire," the tactical officer reported.

The tactic she saw them use was a very basic one. To use as much concentrated fire as they could in order to punch a hole in the Federation ship's shields. It was a tactic that could only work when there were enough ships with enough firepower.

The aggressors had the former, but she was sceptical as to whether they had the latter. Their output while deadly against weak or unarmed targets was not an issue for a battleship.

She watched as the aggressors continued their stings, which while not as powerful were quick in their succession. Eventually, the Federation ship would show its hand and she almost salivated in anticipation of the destruction that was sure to follow.

"The Starfleet ship is returning fire," she heard the tactical officer say.

She watched as streams of red shot out of the underside of the saucer, striking the shields of one of the enemy ships. Another streak of red shot out striking the second, then the third.

A volley of missiles left the fronts of four ships and struck the shields of the starship with a series of near blinding flashes. The Starfleet vessel seemed to buck slightly, but its shields remained firm.

"Detecting a lot of radiation from those missile detonations," the tactical officer reported.

She glanced at him. "Are we in danger?" she questioned, knowing that they were susceptible to high levels of radiation while cloaked.

"We're out of range, but they appear to have been old-style nuclear warheads."

A smile crossed her face. Crude weapons but still powerful.

Then she heard Devuk report. "The _Ishimura_ is sending out a subspace signal."

"Most likely calling the _London_ for aid," she said. This was it. The battle was finally afoot and T'kinta was loving every second of it.

* * *

An uneventful trip back to Overwatch with their alien captive was what Commander Arie Cayman was expecting. That, however, was not what she was going to get.

She was sat in the centre seat signing a report when the communications officer spun around in his seat, earpiece plugged firmly into his ear. "Commander, I'm receiving a message from the _Ishimura_."

Arie turned in her chair. "What's it say, Ensign?"

"Vessels matching the one we fought over the colony have engaged them."

"Numbers?"

"Fifteen and they are reported to have thermonuclear missiles. They are requesting our assistance."

"Understood," Arie said as she pressed firmly pressed down the internal comms button down. "Commander Cayman to Captain Anthi."

There were a few moments before the response came. _"Anthi here, is there something wrong Arie?"_

"The same unknowns that attacked the colony have returned in greater numbers. _Ishimura_ requesting assistance."

" _Turn us around Commander. Let's show them not to mess with Starfleet."_

"Understood."

" _ETA from here?"_

The navigator responded. "Forty-five minutes at warp six."

" _Push for warp eight, knock that time down."_

Arie resisted the urge to remind the captain that they were just a frigate not a cruiser and that warp eight would be a struggle. Instead, she acknowledged the order. "Understood."

" _I'll be up in five minutes, Anthi out."_

The call ended and Arie stared out of the viewscreen "Helm, Navigation, you both heard the captain. Turn us around, let's get there before the show ends." She turned to communications. "Ensign Theth inform the _Ishimura_ that we are on route."

"Understood."

Arie knew that while a lone ship had proved to be no match there was a real chance that fifteen of them well coordinated could prove much more of a challenge. Hopefully not too much of a challenge.

"Keep focus on their weapon systems," Captain Brannon commanded. "If we can start disabling their ability to shoot at us we'll have an easier time."

The tactical officer Commander Philips glanced back at the captain. "Their shields are weak, but they have a quick recharge time. Every time we knock them offline, that ship retreats and recharges while the others draw our fire."

"This is a battle of attrition," Brannon said. "We're slowly wearing them down. More and more of them are having to retreat."

"They're wearing us down too," Philips pointed out. "Those warheads are no joke."

The captain disagreed. "They're not antimatter, we can handle them as long as our shields stay up." Brannon knew that all they had to do was wait for the _London_ to get back. Thankfully it had only been just short of an hour since they had broken orbit.

While the _Ishimura_ was a carrier and had a squadron of ten fighter craft aboard as well as a full complement of shuttle craft. The fighters themselves were designed primarily for atmospheric combat against pirate raiding parties, which depending on the part of the galaxy were becoming alarmingly common and with Orions having been spotted in the sector, it had been deemed necessary for a ship such as the _Ishimura_ that's primary objective was to seek and destroy pirate vessels, to be assigned to the sector.

These ships, however, were not pirates nor were they interested in flying down to the surface to raid the settlements and colonies. They were here to destroy and it was his duty to stop them.

After looking at his readout, Philips glanced back at the captain. "One of the larger battleships are launching more nuclear missiles."

Brannon was growing tired of this. "Disable the warheads, fire a volley of our own torpedoes back at them."

"Firing phasers at the missiles," Philips reported as his fingers flew over the controls. "Torpedoes locked. Firing."

As the small explosions of the undetonated warheads died down from the phaser attack four photonic torpedoes struck the offending ship's hull. Two of the regular unknown ships moved in front, shielding the larger ship as it turned and fled the battle to reenergize its shields.

A well-placed phaser shot struck one of the weakened regular ships before it could flee. Its shields collapsed and its hull flared up in a series of explosions before it came apart.

"Ship destroyed," Philips reported.

Brannon nodded. Even if they did somehow manage to disable every one of the ships out there, they still had enough deadly firepower to devastate a good part of the planet's surface. While he wished otherwise, he knew that they had to be destroyed if they did not surrender or retreat.

"One of the damaged ships is changing course," the helmsman reported. "Looks like a ram."

The captain gripped the sides of his chair. "Evasive."

"Too late."

The ship shook violently and the alert klaxon blared out. It was a struggle for most just to remain seated, for others the impact knocked them off onto the deck.

Philip's voice was barely audible over the chaos. "They destroyed themselves on impact, starboard shields are barely holding."

This battle was starting to take a turn and it was not in their favour.

* * *

It was glorious, or it would have been if T'kinta had been able to join in on the battle. The swarm of unknowns were starting to get the upper hand and while she was almost tempted to decloak and finish off the Starfleet ship she also knew that she was not permitted to make contact with anyone.

So she just sat there and watched as the conflict unfolded with the _Ishimura_ looking more and more like it was going to lose.

The tactical officer reported on the latest development. "A third ship has been destroyed. That leaves twelve, Captain." A moment later he updated his report. "The Starfleet ship's starboard shields have collapsed."

This only proved to T'kinta that the Starfleet ship was losing the battle. As to what would happen when it was destroyed? At a guess, the colony down below was next.

Then unexpectedly, the ships broke off the attack left orbit and went to warp. She sat there not only in shock but also deeply disappointed. She was half tempted to decloak and finish the job.

She would have to settle on following them.

* * *

Captain Brannon, while surprised, was thankful they had gone. As to why was not readily apparent to him. His science officer lieutenant Flaherty gave him the reason.

"Looks like they're headed to intercept the _London_."

The tactical officer Commander Philips confirmed it. "Yep, they're on an intercept."

"They must want the guy they have in their brig," Brannon surmised. "Hail them, tell the _London_ to turn about and head straight to Overwatch."

The communications officer acknowledged. "Aye, sir."

Brannon leant forward in his chair, resting his hands on his knees. "If they follow them, then we'll know the alien they have aboard is who they are after."

"Do we follow?" Philips asked.

"I wish we could. We have to stay here until we know the threat is truly gone. I hate to say it, but the _London_ needs to outrun them alone."

"We could have the _London_ lure them back," Philips suggested.

Brannon shook his head. "No, bringing hostiles into orbit of a colony world is something I want to avoid. A missed shot could strike the planet and I won't risk it."

None of them liked it, but the _London_ was on their own.

* * *

As soon as they received word, they had turned right back around. All they had to do was outrun them, which was easier said than done.

"They have matched our speed," Arie informed the captain.

Anthi stared forward at the viewscreen. "That's all we need."

Beveth, the science officer spoke up regarding that. "We cannot maintain warp factor eight for very long, Captain."

"We just need to keep it up long enough. How many vessels?"

Beveth answered. "Twelve, two larger ships that are heavier armed and better shielded. The rest appear to be the same class we fought previously."

The captain turned to communications. "Have we received a response from Overwatch yet?"

"No, sir."

Arie's feeling of dread had turned into nervousness since word that the unknown hostiles were now in pursuit of them. Her sister and the Bartletts were still on New Loknar last she heard and the thought of the attack that had started before they first arrived being finished off before they could get there had seriously worried her.

"Sir," the comms officer said looking around. "Just received word from Overwatch, they are sending one of their Cray-class starbase defence ships to intercept us."

It was something, but they would be three-quarters of the way back to the starbase before they reached them. Unless the enemy slowed down, they themselves would have to and they would catch them up long before they could rendezvous with the other ship. When that happened there would be a fight and one they might not win.

* * *

Admiral Thalon was in a panic. He had one Cray-class and a Constitution still damaged from the battle with the Klingons, he had lost the _Evergreen_ with him aboard it to the Klingons and now some previously unknown race had not only wiped out a colony world but attacked another and nearly incapacitated the _Ishimura_.

He did not want to think about it but at this rate, every ship in the sector would be broken and in need of repair and the last thing he needed was a war on his hands when he had so few ships already.

Thalon leant on the centre console in the operations centre. Before him on the table was a map of the sector with small indicators showing every active ship available to him.

Apart from the _Ishimura_ and the _London_ , there were three ships on the board. First was the _USS Deslandres_ which was useless in this scenario. It was a Ptolemy-class tug and while it could handle light combat he did not want to put a ship built for hauling cargo containers into a combat situation.

Next was the _USS_ _Drake_ a frigate. It was too far out though and the _London_ would be in dock before they could do anything anyway.

The final ship on the grid was the _Lexington_. Again it was too far to help, so that left him with his hands tied.

He was honestly starting to wonder what he had done wrong to get this posting. Life back at the research and development station while difficult and frustrating most of the time, was at the very least fulfilling. Right now he felt like everything that could go wrong was going wrong.

There were few options available to him. If he ordered the closest ship, the _Drake_ to Overwatch then they would arrive ten hours after the _London_ and if the pursuers followed them all the way back any battle would have been concluded by then. At least hopefully, he didn't want to even think about a battle lasting ten whole hours.

Thalon checked the time. He had called a meeting in briefing room 1 and it was scheduled five minutes from now.

"Lieutenant Rivera," he called out.

The dark haired woman looked around from the communications terminal. "Yes, sir?"

"You have command until either myself or Commander Gessi returns."

"Understood," she acknowledged.

He made his way out of the command area and up the shallow steps that led up and out of the control centre. He made his way around the rounded corridor and stepped into the briefing room where he found Captain Herrera of the _Shaandra_ and Lieutenant Commander Gronag, the Tellarite commander of the station defence ship, _Overwatch-One._

Both of them stood up and Herrera nodded curtly. "Admiral," she greeted.

He sat down. "Take a seat and let's wait for the rest."

The first to enter after him was Lieutenant Commander N'reinn, followed by Commander Gessi and finally Colonel Marshall, who as usual had an air of superiority about him.

With everyone sat down Thalon began. "As we speak, the _London_ is on its way to the station with a small fleet of ships in pursuit. I have sent one of our defence ships to intercept and assist if needed but I need to know if we can defend the station?"

Marshall spoke up immediately. "I have one Cray and a squadron of fighters ready to defend the station."

Thalon looked to Gronag. "Is the ship ready?"

"We can defend the station, Admiral," he said assuredly.

Thalon turned to Herrera. "What about the _Shaandra_?"

"We might not have warp, but phasers, shields and torpedoes work just fine. We can be ready to confront any enemy within a half-hour."

Thalon made the decision. "Then The _Shaandra_ and _Overwatch-One_ will help defend the station hopefully along with the _London_ and _Overwatch-Two_ when they get here." He then mentally added, _if they get here_ _and aren't destroyed._

"And the fighters?" Marshall questioned.

Thalon had been reading up on the so-called fighters and decided to impart his knowledge onto the Colonel. "The fighters we have are best served for atmospheric flight," he said. "They are designed for planet operations, not deep space."

"This is a test, Admiral," Marshall said. "To see if they can be repurposed."

N'reinn wholly disagreed. "Fighters are great at taking on pirates who are raiding a colony world, but even the _Evergreen_ my old ship could take down those fighters in a space combat scenario. Unless they use the starbase's shields as a defence."

Marshall glared at her. "It's numbers, not overall strength. I've been training the pilots extensively."

"We're not using them here," Thalon said firmly. "If anything, I believe we should redeploy them to the colony worlds as defence."

Gessi asked. "How long until the _London_ arrives?"

"Currently, eleven hours. The last update was that the pursuers had slowed to warp five and the _London_ had also reduced to warp five to let their engines recover a little bit."

Colonel Marshall said. "They could cruise at warp five and leave the pursuers in the dust."

Thalon disagreed. "The concern is they return to the colony and finish what they started. Right now, every colony in the region is in potential danger."

"Are we getting more ships?" N'reinn asked. "If there's a hostile species in the region we need to secure our borders, otherwise every colony within fifty light years might be in danger."

"Unknown as of yet," Thalon told them. "I'm still waiting on the reply."

Marshall cracked his knuckles. "Whatever happens, we'll be ready."

Thalon rose up from his seat. "You have eleven hours, I want both ships out of dock and ready in nine."

Herrera acknowledged. " _Shaandra_ will be ready to fight, sir."

N'reinn added. "So will the station."

"Very well, dismissed."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The Cray-Class defence ship _Overwatch-Two_ had successfully rendezvoused with the _London_ and the two of them had made it back to Starbase 59 without incident before the defence vessel had been sent back out to a location half way between the station and the enemy ships to keep an eye on them.

The pursuers had stopped roughly one light year from the station where they held position. Fearing they were waiting for reinforcements, Thalon ordered the _Drake_ which was under his jurisdiction and also requested the aid of the _Lexington_ which was on a mission of its own to come to the station as reinforcement.

In all honesty, the admiral didn't want a conflict. He wanted to figure out a way to end this peacefully. Unfortunately, all attempts at communication had failed.

Thanks to some information from DenliLos; the alien they had in custody, they had a name which was Draya their homeworld and thus the people were now known as Drayans.

Still, there was a lot that he was keeping back which the Admiral hoped that Lieutenant Commander N'reinn would be able to get out of him.

There was also the small cube that he had been carrying. It had been sent to the labs to see if its workings could be ascertained. From the initial report, it didn't look hopeful.

He just wanted an answer as to why a world had been destroyed and another attacked. He wanted to know so that he could stop it happening again.

For now, all he could do was sit and wait for something to happen, either for the Drayan ships to attack or for either the science lab or DenliLos to tell them something.

* * *

"Let us start from the beginning," N'reinn said facing down DenliLos who sat there his small fingers webbed together. "Your queen was killed. Is that correct?"

"That is correct, the body of our queen was destroyed."

"And from there you sought to escape?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"And you were the personal assistant of your queen which is why they are after you?"

"I was more than simply an assistant to Draya T'shar Meli, I was also her bodyguard and confidant."

"I'm assuming Draya T'shar Meli was the name of your planet's ruler?" N'reinn asked.

He jerked back in his chair. "I am sorry, I should not have said that in your presence. You cannot call her that. You must refer to her as Transcendent Meli. She is the mother to all, the one that we owe everything to. For without her our world would still be at war with itself or perhaps even destroyed itself. Every Draya in existence owes their life to her greatness and to her kindness."

N'reinn was starting to grow annoyed by all of this. She simply wanted answers but he kept going on epic tangents and before she knew it twenty or even thirty had passed. "Just tell me why a fleet of ships would be after you? Does it have anything to do with the cube?"

"To tell you would risk everything," DenliLos said.

"Why?" she questioned. "Why would it risk everything? What is so important that there is a fleet of ships out there willing to be destroyed over? Because I can tell you that twelve Drayan ships cannot take on a Constitution, A Loknar, two Crays and a starbase of this magnitude without being annihilated. They'll need a much bigger fleet than they have. So I ask you once more. What is it they're really after because no one sends that many ships to possible destruction unless it is _very_ important."

DenliLos did not answer, but his gaze remained on her. She stared back wondering how she was going to get him to tell her what she wanted to know. She decided to just talk to him, to try and understand his people and him a little more and she chose to start with his former ruler.

"Your queen was called Transcendent Meli, correct?" N'reinn asked.

He smiled broadly. "Correct, she was known as the Transcendent, the mother of all modern Draya. The one that saved us from the strife of civil conflict and death and made it possible for us to develop and eventually reach the stars.

"What was she like as a person?"

His eyes seemed to light up but he still didn't speak. It almost looked like he wanted to tell her but for some reason wouldn't. Her only guess was that they weren't allowed to with outsiders.

N'reinn continued to push on the issue. "You seem very fond of your queen."

"I am," he said. "As all true Drayans are."

That brought up a question that she felt needed clarification. "We know that some form of military coup was responsible for the death of your queen. What I want to know is what extent is your world in a civil war?"

"It is not. The military now rules the entire planet under martial law."

"So what danger could you possibly pose to them that they would send so many ships to chase you?" She asked once more. "There has to be a reason. I want to help, please let me help you."

"They pursue because I have something they want."

"The cube?"

"You ask the questions but I cannot answer. I do not know you, nor can I trust you. Until I can, then I will not speak."

He wasn't going to give her a straight answer and while she was putting her proverbial money on it having something to do with the box, she also knew that it could be something else entirely. As far as the cube was concerned she would have to wait until the science lab found something as it looked like DenliLos was not going to tell her anything.

* * *

Saaris had been somewhat surprised when she had been called to Admiral Thalon's office. She had no idea what it was about, but at the back of her mind, she had the notion that somehow he had found out about her recent issues. Namely destroying her quarters and the assault of Schaffer.

When the doors to his office opened, he outwardly smiled but she could tell something wasn't right. However, she quickly discovered that it had nothing to do with her, though soon would.

"I called you here because we have a bit of a problem we need your eyes on," the admiral told her.

"How may I assist?" she asked, managing to only just keep her nerves in check.

"We have some sort of device. So far all scans have failed and we have no idea how it works or what it does."

"I shall take a look, however, if your own science team have been unable to discern its operation I am not sure how I can be of assistance."

He sighed. "Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can solve a problem that others have overlooked," he said. "I also have something to admit. Currently, the so called "Science Team" aren't exactly the best of the best and I need someone that has a little more experience looking at it."

"Very well. Where am I to report?"

"Science Lab One."

"Very well. Am I dismissed?"

"One last thing," he said reaching under his desk and placing a uniform on it. "Consider yourself the chief science officer of Overwatch for the time being. The officer assigned still hasn't arrived and the ship he was on was called to an emergency elsewhere."

She looked down at it. "I accept," she said, knowing she needed something to preoccupy her mind. A puzzle that needed solving would certainly do that. She was even looking forward to it.

Thalon smiled. "I look forward to your report."

Saaris retrieved the uniform and made a stop by her quarters to change before making her way to the science lab entering she found four officers, two females, one a human ensign the other an Andorian Lieutenant and two human males who also held the rank of ensign.

Upon seeing her they all stood up and the Andorian spoke. "We heard you were on your way," she said quickly.

Saaris didn't bother with the pleasantries apart from introducing herself. "I am Commander Saaris. Where is the device?"

The Andorian quickly moved over to a small mass spectrometer. "We've tried all sorts but we can't seem to get a scan on it. All we know is that it's cubic in shape and emits energy in the form of a dim light."

"No other emissions?" the Vulcan inquired, looking at the device.

"None that we can detect. Whatever's inside we cannot get a reading on it."

Saaris visually studied the cube some more. "What scans have you performed?"

"Every single one."

"I assume that is the standard set of scans."

"Correct."

"Then we must begin to pursue the ones that are not standard. Have you taken a reading on the exact wavelengths of light it emits?"

"Pure white light," the Andorian lieutenant reported. "Every colour."

"I want the wavelengths," Saaris said more sharply than she had intended.

"Right," the Andorian woman said with a quick nod as she moved over and picked up a data slate and read the information displayed. "From forty-seven nanometres to forty-seven micrometres," she reported before adding. "And those are the exact wavelengths. There are no decimal places."

Saaris nodded. "That's from extreme ultraviolet through the visible spectrum to mid infrared," she commented. "Any pulsation of the light?"

"Not that we can see."

"I did not ask that," Saaris said hiding her frustration. "I asked if there was any pulsation?"

The Andorian glanced at the others. "I don't know what you mean. It looks constant."

"Is that analysis purely visual?" Saaris questioned wishing they would use more precise terms.

The Andorian's antennae drooped. "Yes, Commander. Purely visual."

"The light could be fluctuating at a frequency that is not perceptible. Take the device and place it in the spectral analyser."

The Andorian put on a pair of insulated gloves and carefully picked up the cube before moving it over to the spectral analyser and began the analysis. Saaris stood there and waited for the results unimpressed by the so-called "science officers" before her.

The Andorian turned to her. "Down to one picosecond the light is constant."

"Try one attosecond," Saaris told her.

"Yes sir," the Andorian said as she input the command into the analyser.

A minute later she read the result. "There is a frequency pattern that repeats every twelve nanoseconds with eighteen blinks where there is absolutely no emission of energy. Each blink lasts four attoseconds each."

"What does it mean?" one of the ensigns asked.

Saaris had no idea. She wasn't even sure that information was even relevant in understanding what the cube was, what energy it was holding inside or anything. But it was a lead and she would be remiss if she ignored it. "That is something we must find out," she said aloud. "These are very precise frequency patterns within an incomprehensibly short time frame. It is by all accounts the very definition of fascinating."

One of the ensigns snorted. Saaris looked over to see the female ensign was having trouble stifling a laugh. She frowned. "Is there something you find humorous?" the Vulcan questioned unimpressed.

The ensign straightened up. "Sorry, sir. It's just that Ensign Keyes said you would say the word "Fascinating" at least once."

One of the ensigns whom Saaris assumed was Keyes glared at the young woman before looking over at the Commander. "It was a joke, sir. I didn't mean any offence."

Saaris raised an eyebrow before turning her attention back to the matter at hand which was the strange device. She had no time for foolishness. The Vulcan stepped up to the analyser and peered inside at the cube. "If you have all stopped acting immature, we must-" She was cut off mid-sentence as there was a bright blinding flash.

* * *

The moment Schaffer had heard he ran to the Medical Centre. He asked people frantically where Saaris was and with help, he managed to find the room.

Outside was Admiral Thalon talking with a young Andorian lieutenant dressed in blue.

"It just went up," she said to the admiral. "Wrecked the spectral analyser and blew itself to bits."

"So there's nothing left of the device?"

"Just the base. The rest is shrapnel, the Commander got the worst of it."

Schaffer couldn't believe this. Saaris had already recently suffered trauma from an explosion to suffer another so soon could result in permanent and far worse brain damage.

Thalon saw Schaffer's approach and turned to greet him. "It's alright," he said.

"How can it be "alright" Saaris has been hurt!" Schaffer shouted.

"She's already awake but resting," the Admiral said in an attempt to comfort him.

Unfortunately, Schaffer's frame of mind wasn't so easily comforted. "I need to see her."

"That isn't recommended at this moment," Thalon said.

"I don't care if it's recommended, I want to see her," Schaffer said pushing past him.

Thalon grabbed him by the arm. "You can sit outside if you really need to be here. She needs her rest, you're a doctor you should know that."

Schaffer stared at him. What he was saying was true and he knew it. He had a choice: either let his emotions rule or his head. Saaris needed rest and he had to give it to her.

"Fine," he said taking a seat. "At least tell me what happened?"

Thalon turned to the lieutenant. "You're dismissed, get some rest yourself."

She nodded. "Yes sir," she said before hurrying away.

Thalon looked down at Schaffer before taking a seat beside him. "She was analysing a device and it exploded."

Schaffer knew that he shouldn't be angry at him but he couldn't help it. "You asked her to, didn't you?"

"I gave her a temporary assignment as head of sciences until our own arrives."

Schaffer wanted to ask "Why?" but it was fairly obvious. Saaris was a scientist and the admiral needed her expertise. "So will she be okay?" he asked instead.

"Doctor Cramer believes so. She noted the previous brain trauma has not been exacerbated, which is good news." Schaffer nodded in return. Thalon continued, "I understand that the two of you are close?" It was a stupid question. The admiral already knew the answer.

"It's complicated," Schaffer said, which strangely was a very simplistic way of describing the relationship he and Saaris had. Before, back on the _Evergreen_ it had been simpler if one sided. Now he didn't know where he stood.

"Relationships often are," Thalon said looking up at the ceiling.

Schaffer said nothing. Despite the great news that she was okay, he was still deeply worried about her.

Thalon stood up. "I'm sorry this happened," he said resting a hand on Schaffer's shoulder. The admiral then turned leaving Schaffer alone.

* * *

The doors to the brig slid open and Lieutenant Commander N'reinn stormed inside. She stopped by DenliLos' cell and got right on with it.

"Your little box blew up and put one of my friends into the sickbay."

He was on his feet in an instant and moved up to the forcefield. "What?" he demanded his eyes wide. "How?"

"They had just finished a spectral analysis when it went up in a flash. We have one still in sickbay and two with damaged retinas."

He turned his back to her. "I-" he stammered. "I cannot tell you anything more."

"Sorry but that's not good enough. I need answers and I need them now. Was that device an explosive of some kind?" He still gave no answer. "Don't make me lower the forcefield and beat it out of you!"

"Lieutenant Commander," came the voice of Admiral Thalon as he stepped into the brig.

She turned to him in surprise. "Sir, I didn't realise you were there. I thought you were still in sickbay"

He moved up beside her. "Beating prisoners is against regulations," he told her. "Don't make me regret promoting you."

She wanted to tell him that she wasn't serious, that it was simply intended to intimidate. Unfortunately, she couldn't because they were in earshot of the prisoner and it would destroy any future intimidation tactics she might try.

Thalon looked at DenliLos. "You want to tell us something?"

DenliLos slowly turned around to face them. "The future of our people relies on me and my actions. You may want answers but to give them to you jeopardises the lives of billions."

Thalon urged him. "It is important. The Federation is not hostile, we are peaceful. We simply wish to know. Perhaps we can help."

DenliLos turned back to face away from them once more. "You may be peaceful, or you may not. I cannot take that risk. Things are now in motion, things that I cannot change. I am sorry about your friend, but they will be fine."

N'reinn looked to the admiral who nodded in affirmation. "She might have some scarring of the face from some shrapnel that has been removed, but other than that Doctor Cramer has assured me that she will indeed be fine." Thalon then looked at DenliLos. "But that does beg the question. How could you know she would be fine? Was the device some kind of stun grenade?"

"I will say no more."

N'reinn was about to ask another question when Commander Gessi's voice sounded over the intercom. _"Gessi to Admiral Thalon."_

The admiral stepped over to the wall comm and activated it. "Thalon here. Be warned before you speak I'm in the brig."

" _Sir, we have detected a transmission."_

Thalon glanced back towards N'reinn. "Tell me when we get up there, out," he said deactivating the comm. "Commander, with me."

N'reinn looked to DenliLos. "I will be back, so you better be ready to answer some questions."

With that, she followed the admiral up to the operations centre. Which took barely any time at all.

"What have you found?" Thalon asked as he and N'reinn stepped into the command ring that lay in the centre of the large control room.

Gessi stood up straight from where he had been leaning on the centre console. "A transmission."

"Source?" Thalon asked.

"Sir, it's from us."

That confused N'reinn. "From the station?"

"Correct. The origin is from Overwatch."

"When was the signal sent out and what's its destination?" Thalon asked.

"It has no destination and the time coincides with the destruction of the object in the science lab."

Thalon clenched his jaw. "Is it a message of some kind?"

Gessi nodded. "We think it might be. There is a frequency pattern."

"What's the pattern?" Thalon asked.

"Eighteen wavelength spikes, that's it nothing more."

Thalon nodded. "If it is a specific transmission, then only the recipients will know what it means."

"Sir, I might add that it is a subspace transmission. It's why we didn't pick it up."

"Who did?"

" _Overwatch-Two_ did. They are currently half a light year out keeping an eye on the Drayan fleet as you ordered."

"Have the Drayan ships moved?"

"Not yet, sir and no reinforcements either," Gessi said.

"Let's hope they decide trying to attack this station isn't worth it," Thalon mused.

N'reinn added. "This is a well-fortified installation. Even with just the station, we would most likely win. Our reactor alone is bigger than any starship and we have phasers and shields to match."

Thalon nodded. He didn't want to have the opportunity to test out the station's defences, but it looked like he might have no choice. As to who the intended target of the transmission was, he knew that they would eventually find out. He just wondered if it would be before or after the Drayan fleet attacked. As with all things only time would tell.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter** **Fourteen**

As soon as he had been given the "okay" by nurse Grace, Paul Schaffer made his way into Saaris' room. She sat there facing forward. At first she didn't seem to notice him, but then her head turned, her face strangely blank.

"Saaris, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I am as well as can be expected," she replied with a stoicism that only a Vulcan could achieve in such a circumstance.

He moved over to her bedside. "I was worried," he said.

"There is no need," she replied simply. "According to Doctor Cramer my healing is going better than expected."

"I'm glad." He looked at her face closely. He could see the marks spattered across her face from where the shrapnel from the explosion would have pierced her skin, though they didn't look nearly as bad as he had been expecting. In fact, they looked almost healed.

"Is there a reason for your visit?" she asked.

He frowned. Surely she knew why he was here? "I just came to see how you were," he said.

"I am well," she replied simply.

Schaffer began to play with his fingers as silence fell between them. He didn't really know what to say. He decided to see if she could remember what happened, but asked in an indirect way. "Before the explosion, did you find anything out?" he asked. "About the thing you were looking at?"

"Thing?" Saaris questioned before looking at the back wall.

"What you were studying." She didn't answer. "Saaris?" he questioned to no response.

He waved his hand in front of her face. At first, there was no response which started to freak him out. Then she turned and looked at him with the same blank expression she had had when he first entered.

"Are you okay?" he asked, knowing that she definitely wasn't.

She held out her hand and rested it on the side of his face. He placed his hand over hers and embraced the contact.

It was short lived.

Saaris pulled her hand away. "You are not compatible," she said coldly.

"Compatible?" he asked. He had no idea whether he should feel concerned or rejected. "What does that mean?" She was starting to scare him. This was not normal behaviour, not even for someone with brain trauma. At least not the kind she had.

She blinked a few times then looked back at him. "Doctor Schaffer, I appreciate that you came to visit but I assure you your concern is unwarranted. I am fine."

Now he was really confused. He wished he had brought his hand scanner so he could take a quick reading. According to the overhead readout everything was normal.

"Are you okay?" he asked wondering if he should go find someone to check on her.

She nodded. "I believe so. I am having trouble concentrating, however."

"Do you want me to call someone, have a quick scan?"

"I believe that Doctor Cramer said that I still need some rest. I believe it would be best if you left and allowed me to do so. I am feeling quite fatigued."

"They said I could visit but if you're not up to it, I can come back later?"

"That might be best," Saaris said. "Thank you for your visit."

"I'll be back. Get well."

"Thank you."

Schaffer stood up and left the room. The first nurse he came across he waved down which was nurse Grace who he had met when he first arrived. "Could you have someone check on Saaris, she seems to be acting a little strangely."

She smiled. "I was just on my way, don't worry."

"Thanks," he said gratefully as he followed her back to the room.

He waited outside while the nurse went in. A few minutes passed and he began to pace back and forth becoming increasingly agitated.

He was about to walk into the room when the door opened and the nurse stepped out. "Sorry, but she needs some rest," she told him.

"What about her behaviour?" Schaffer questioned. "She's acting really strangely."

"Fatigue most likely. You can come back this evening and see her then."

He bit his bottom lip. He wanted to tell her to go check again but he was a doctor himself and knew he would react very similar if the roles were reversed.

Still, Saaris' behaviour was not right and he needed to know. "Can you check on her again?"

"I know you're concerned," the nurse said with clear sympathy. "But she needs her rest."

"Just keep an eye on her," he said finally. "If there's any strange behaviour, please tell me."

"Sorry, sir, but that is not for me to decide. Now I am very busy, please excuse me."

He didn't leave and neither did she. Instead, she stared him down until he himself turned on his heels and headed for the nearest turbolift.

While he knew he shouldn't, he decided that he needed a drink.

* * *

Mira Cayman was not very happy. Not only were they still on the surface of New Loknar, but they had been informed that all traffic to Overwatch had been suspended for the time being meaning that they currently had nowhere to go. This meant the only real thing they could do was stay put and help out.

The aftermath of the attack was still very evident. Bars were open but the patrons were those that needed shelter, not a drink and the city hospital was well over capacity meaning surrounding buildings had to take on a new role in order to house the injured.

Most were Andorian, though there were a few of other species as well. Still, it didn't matter where they were from, they needed help and the crew of the _Periphery_ were going to do what they could.

Mira was currently in one of those buildings helping Charlotte Mitchell, their ship's resident ship nurse set someone's leg. It was upsetting seeing the guy writhe while the bones in the leg were not only reset, but also bandaged in a splint.

"Jesus, Charlie," Mira said as she kept the leg still. "Don't we have something for the pain?"

"Don't call me Charlie," Charlotte said quickly before adding, "And we're out of painkillers here." She finished wrapping up the leg and secured it with tape. "I've also donated what I could from our stores aboard ship. The Starfleet ship in orbit is also supposed to be sending more supplies down, but I don't know if they have yet." She moved on to the next patient, Mira following her.

"I can't believe these people have been left," Mira said looking around. Right now there were two-dozen people and only four in total were here to help including the two of them.

"The colony is overwhelmed with injured," Charlotte pointed out. "The worst first. These people mostly have just lacerations."

"That guy just had a smashed leg," Mira pointed out. "That's a bit more than cuts and bruises."

"He had only just been brought in. People are still being rescued from the rubble," Charlotte said as she sprayed some disinfectant over a woman's bloodied arm. "Sorry, if this stings," she said speaking to the woman who was clenching her teeth.

"I can't believe we were just going to leave," Mira said.

"We didn't know how bad it still was," Charlotte said. "Us being freight crew from off-world we aren't exactly in the loop."

Mira's communicator beeped and she retrieved it from her pocket and activated it. "Hey, Mira here."

" _It's Joshua. Me and Olivia are just leaving the municipal building. We've been requested to head to Zaberdeen to pick up medical supplies and some folks who want to come help."_

Charlotte looked over at her with a nod. "We need to do something. The medical supplies are almost gone."

"Unless they're keeping how much they have quiet," Mira pointed out. "Freight crew from off-world remember?"

"Maybe," Charlotte said as she turned her attention back to her patient.

Mira turned her own attention back to the communicator. "When do we depart? There's still a lot of people down here that need immediate attention."

" _As soon as you're back unless you want to stay behind and help?"_

Charlotte nodded again. "I can still do a lot of good here. In fact, I'd say more good than joining you on the ship."

"Then we're both staying," Mira said. "Joshua, how far is Zaberdeen?"

" _Just over three days, so that's near seven days until we're back. Will you be okay for that long?"_

"We'll be fine," Mira promised. "Just get going."

" _We'll see you in six days, then."_

"I thought you said it was a seven-day trip?"

" _Near seven days. And besides, these engines can take it."_

"Just make sure the flow regulator is aligned our you could end up blowing half the coils out."

" _Cayan's got a handle on it. Love you."_

"Love you too. Good luck and come back safe." Mira pocketed her bulky communicator before addressing Charlotte. "What next?"

"We've nearly used up all the food we've got here in the building," Charlotte said. "I sent Wingus and Dingus to go see if they could get some from the relief station that's been set up, but they haven't come back yet."

"Wingus and Dingus?" Mira asked with a smirk.

"I don't know their names and it seemed to fit. Now get going."

Mira mocked a salute before heading out of the door.

* * *

"I can't believe we're leaving them behind?" Olivia said as the ship ascended up out of the atmosphere. "Especially Mira."

Joshua shrugged. "They wanted to stay and help. We don't need them to pick up the supplies or the volunteers."

"But what if those aliens come back?" Olivia asked her hands on her hips.

"There's a starship in orbit," Joshua pointed out. "They'll deal with 'em."

"You hope."

"They wanted to help. I couldn't say no."

"Charlotte, sure, but Mira shouldn't be left down there."

"She's not a kid, she's an adult. She can make her own decisions and she decided to stay and help. We decided to fetch more supplies."

Olivia shook her head. "No, you're right. I just worry."

"I know. If you want to keep your mind off of things, Cayan might need some help. We're gonna be pushing things a little harder than usual."

Olivia stood up and left the cockpit without another word. Joshua wondered if he had upset her. He knew he couldn't dwell on it too much. They had a mission to accomplish and he was going to make sure they got it done and in record time.

He pressed down the intercom. "Engineering, when can you give me warp?"

Cayan's voice came over the speaker. _"When we're out of the gravitational interference of the planet and main star. I could compute a gravity map of the star system so we could go to warp sooner if you want?"_

Joshua checked the system's gravitational bodies. "I'll just plot a course to the nearest safe warp zone. Less risk."

 _"If that's how you want to do it."_

"At full impulse, we can warp in twenty-five minutes."

" _She'll be ready. Engineering out."_

Joshua increased velocity to maximum impulse as soon as they left the far upper atmosphere and the old ship vibrated as it increased velocity.

Behind them, the planet shrunk away until it was invisible in the light of the star and eventually the cargo ship leapt into warp.

* * *

Paul Schaffer had been sat at the bar for a few hours now, though most of that time hadn't been drinking. He had mostly been listening to the soft jazz that was playing in the background.

He had been nursing the particular drink that currently lay in front of him for the best part of forty minutes staring at it as it brought back rather unpleasant memories. His mother had been a bit of a drinker. A widow suffering along after the death of her husband, his father.

She was never violent. In fact the opposite. She became overly protective and wept a lot. It had affected Paul's childhood quite a lot. He was trapped inside the house, his mother unwilling to let him leave except for school. Even then she still sometimes wouldn't.

Eventually, he had been taken from his mother by welfare services and put up for adoption. He was a twelve-year-old kid and was soon snatched up by a loving family. But they weren't the same. They weren't his parents, they just looked after him and let him live in their house. As soon as he was of age he left and never looked back.

As for his biological mother, he never knew what happened to her. She just vanished as though she had fallen through a wormhole or had been sucked into a quantum filament.

Since then he had put all his focus onto moving forward, never daring to even take a glance at what was behind. He feared that if he was given too much time to think, too much time to dwell on what he'd lost that he would fall into the hole his mother had.

Now here he was sat in some bar doing exactly that.

He seriously considered picking the glass up and smashing it against the floor. Instead, he simply pushed it aside and called the barman over. He removed his credit chip from his pocket and paid his rather small tab and walked out.

Stood there in the fake street, he watched the people walk by. He wished there was a breeze, but the air was still and fake like the cobbles beneath his feet. He missed real air and even while some of the air was natural from the trees in the enclosure it was mixed in with that from the recyclers of the station.

Schaffer ran his hand through his short hair. It felt greasy despite having a shower just that morning. He put it down to the drink. He barely touched the stuff but when he did, he usually really went for it. Gulping the stuff down like a dehydrated deer on the riverbank.

The last time he had drunk was when he had tried and failed to locate his mother. He had almost destroyed himself before he had managed to get his life back on track.

Funnily enough, it had been a Vulcan that had made him realise his life had become an absolute disaster. He remembered stumbling out of a bar on Earth right into a Vulcan and promptly vomiting all over the poor guy.

The look of absolute disgust that came from the supposedly emotionless race was enough to make him realise just how far he had fallen. He had become such a degenerate that even a Vulcan couldn't suppress the revulsion.

Schaffer wished that he had gotten better, but instead of fixing his drinking problem he just substituted the obsession of alcohol with something else and that just so happened to be putting all of his attention into being a doctor. It sounded strange, but it kept his mind occupied. Unfortunately, since the _Evergreen_ he had ended up with far too much time on his hands.

His father had been a Starfleet doctor before he had died and he felt that it would somehow fill the gap that had been left in his life.

Somehow he not only managed to get into medical school but also after two years was able to transfer to Starfleet Academy and majored in Advanced Xenobiology and get an M.D. as well as a fast track into being a doctor aboard a starship.

Now things were so confused. Life aboard the _Evergreen_ had been so certain and now it had all be torn away. He needed something to keep himself busy. Being responsible for the health of a few hundred people certainly helped with that. Now he had far too much time on his hands and his vice was starting to show its ugly head.

He decided to head back up to his quarters and catch up on some sleep. He hadn't been sleeping all to well as of late and the turbulent relationship with Saaris, if it could even be called that, wasn't at all helping.

Schaffer found a turbolift and gripped the control rod and twisted it. He gave his destination to the computer and rode out the journey with his eyes closed. Thankfully, no one else got on and soon he was setting foot into his quarters.

But he didn't go to bed. Instead, he sat there at the small table his hands propping up his head, his elbows on the table.

There he waited until evening when he would go check up on Saaris again. Unfortunately, by the time it rolled around he had fallen asleep.

* * *

After her watch shift had ended, N'reinn decided to give Saaris a quick visit to see how she was doing before she headed to her quarters to catch an early night.

She entered just as a nurse was leaving. "Good evening," the nurse greeted.

"How is she?"

"Fine for the most part. There has been some unusual behaviour observed but Doctor Cramer believes it has something to do with some brain damage she had received previously."

N'reinn nodded. "Could it have been made worse by what happened?"

"We don't believe so, though being exposed to another explosion so soon after could have had a negative emotional impact."

"She's a Vulcan," N'reinn pointed out.

"Yes, but Vulcans are quite capable of suffering PTSD, despite how much they pretend they don't."

"Is there anything that can be done?"

"For her to rest and heal," the nurse said.

"Can I visit?"

"For a few minutes, but then she'll need to rest until morning."

"Thank you," N'reinn said as she stepped into the room.

Inside Saaris was sat staring at the wall. She turned to look at her. "Good afternoon," she greeted.

"Evening," N'reinn corrected. "You want me to bring a book?" she asked her as she stepped up to the side of the bed. "You look a little bored."

Saaris gestured to the small monitor that lay on a movable arm by the edge of her bed. "I have access to everything I should want to read from here."

"That's good. So how are you doing?"

"As well as can be expected. Doctor Cramer wishes to keep me in overnight."

"I see. How's the food?"

"Adequate."

N'reinn smiled at that. "I like that word. A polite way of saying it's not great."

Saaris raised an eyebrow. "Adequate simply means that it is serviceable or acceptable. It means no more and it means no less."

"I'm joking," N'reinn said. She then tapped the side of her head. "It is good to see you're still all there, though,"

"If you mean my cognitive faculties, then yes. I seem to have a better grasp on my emotions as well."

"Since the _Evergreen_?" N'reinn asked.

"Yes. Since the accident, I have been struggling. Since the explosion in the science lab, I seem to have regained a lot of my control."

"That's good news, I guess," N'reinn said unsure of what it meant. How could further injury fix what had been caused by an older, yet still fresh injury? It made no sense to the Caitian.

Saaris broke her gaze with N'reinn and turned her attention towards the wall. She blinked a few times before turning back to her.

"Feeling tired?" N'reinn asked.

The Vulcan reached out her hand and rested it on the side of her face. N'reinn had no idea what to make of this rather peculiar gesture and she didn't get the time to dwell on it as the door slid open and a nurse stepped into the room.

"Oh, sorry," the nurse said. "I didn't know you were having a moment."

Saaris lowered her hand. "I am unsure why I did that," she admitted. "Apologies Lieutenant Commander N'reinn."

N'reinn was confused. "It's fine," she said before addressing the nurse. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Just came to check her blood pressure."

N''reinn moved away from the bed. "Well, I should be going. I'll see you soon, Saaris."

"I look forward to seeing you again," the Vulcan said.

The Caitian left the room and put her hand on her face where Saaris had touched it. "Strange," she verbalised wondering if there was a deeper meaning to the gesture. Was she lonely?

She decided that if given the chance she would come back tomorrow first thing. Her former X.O. deserved that much and a lot more.

She decided that she also needed to meet up with some old shipmates, well the few that were still on the station, and get them to come see the commander. If she was, in fact, lonely then N'reinn intended to try and fix it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter** **Fifteen**

Saaris was going over and over the detonation of the device and what had happened afterwards in her head, trying to mentally rebuild the events that had led up to the unfortunate explosion.

Her mind had cleared up quite a lot since yesterday afternoon. The strange bouts of not being able to concentrate or on occasion even forgetting where she was had completely vanished. According to the nurse, this was a good sign and Saaris accepted it as much.

Now she seemed fully cognizant and was interesting in seeing if she could figure out what had caused the device to explode, whether it was the scan itself or whether it had simply gone off at a predetermined time.

Saaris was hoping to be able to get out of the medical centre sometime this morning so she could get on with that task. She found the room she was currently in to be somewhat stifling.

It was roughly an hour since breakfast that Doctor Cramer entered the room holding a data slate with a broad smile on her face.

"Good morning," she greeted. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Saaris decided not to point out the poor choice of using the term "feeling" and answered. "I believe I am ready to leave and continue my work in studying the device."

Cramer held up the slate stylus in front of Saaris' eyes. "Follow this with your eyes please," she said as she began to move it back and forth.

Saaris kept her eyes firmly on the stylus until it was lowered. "Very good," Cramer said before addressing what Saaris had said. "From what Thalon told me the device you were studying exploded, which is the reason you ended up here."

"That is correct and I am well aware of that. However, there are some pieces left. It may be possible to discern from the debris what it was and why it detonated."

"I would recommend more rest," Cramer said.

"Your recommendation is noted."

She took a closer look at Saaris' face. "I am really surprised at how well your skin has healed. I was expecting scarring." She quickly checked her notes.

"Vulcans are quite resilient," Saaris replied.

"There should still be some." Cramer raised her scanner and took some readings. "No, I'm really confused. Something isn't right here."

"Is there a problem?" Saaris questioned.

"Hold on, I'm going to fetch the neural scanner."

The doctor left while the Commander waited patiently for her to return. She did so promptly with a device that she placed onto the Vulcan's head.

"Okay, I'm going to perform a deep scan like earlier where I checked there wasn't further brain trauma."

"Proceed," Saaris said.

Cramer activated the device and waited for it to finish. She then checked the results. "Now, isn't that interesting."

"What have you discovered?" Saaris asked.

"I think I might have to keep you in a little longer," Cramer said a look of confusion etched on her face.

"May I ask why? Is there a problem?"

"Not really a problem, but it looks like the previous brain trauma you received when your ship was destroyed has mostly healed itself."

That surprised the Vulcan. "I was under the impression that it might never heal."

"That's what I thought," Cramer said shaking her head in disbelief. "I want to see if there's a reason. This isn't normal. There is no way that damage should have healed, not this suddenly."

"Perhaps the alien device had something to do with it?" Saaris pondered aloud.

"I honestly don't know. At this point it's a real possibility," Cramer admitted. "I don't have any other leads or even ideas of what could have possibly caused this."

"Then perhaps I should go find the answer if you will be willing to discharge me?"

Cramer bit her lip. She really wanted to keep her in here for more observations, but if it did have something to do with the device that put her in the hospital in the first place, then it might hold medical scientific data that could prove invaluable.

The doctor decided on a compromise. "I will be willing under the condition that I join you. I'm very interested in finding out more about this device. If it is responsible for repairing the damage in your brain, then the ramifications could be huge. Previously untreatable conditions might become treatable."

"It is important not to jump to conclusions before we have even begun," Saaris pointed out.

"Sorry," Cramer apologised. "Got ahead of myself." She took the device off of the Vulcan's head. "I'll sort out the paperwork. Hopefully, within the hour we'll be able to discharge you."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Under observation," Cramer then added. "My observation."

"I understand."

The doctor turned and hurried out of the room.

* * *

While heading down to the medical centre to pay Saaris another visit, Kceris N'reinn bumped into Paul Schaffer who was also going to see the commander as the two headed for the turbolift.

"Good to see you, Paul," N'reinn said as he stepped up beside her.

He smiled with a quick nod. "You too, Kceris."

Gripping the control rods in the elevator, the Caitian gave the computer their destination. Immediately they began to move to their destination.

"So, you're headed to see Saaris as well?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I saw her last night and she seemed a little lonely, so thought I'd drop in before my watch starts."

"I was going to pay her a visit, but I fell asleep," Schaffer told her.

"Lack of sleep?" she asked.

"Stress," he replied. "Too much time on my hands."

"Yeah, when I get off shift my mind tends to drift back to our brief stay marooned on that planet."

"Moon," Schaffer corrected with a smile.

"Yeah, how could I forget that putrid brown gas giant we were orbiting. When we got back, I checked the logs. That thing was giving off some nasty radiation. A few more days and it might have started to affect us."

"But we didn't."

"No, we didn't. The worst part of the whole thing is that I got a promotion out of it. I feel I've benefited from all those people dying, that I should have turned it down out of respect."

"You've done nothing wrong," Schaffer assured her. "You deserve the promotion."

"I wish I felt that way."

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open at their destination. The two of them stepped out and up to the front desk and Schaffer spoke. "We're here to see Saaris."

The man at the desk smiled at them. "Good you are here, she is currently being discharged."

"That's great news," N'reinn said.

The clerk continued. "They should be here at any moment."

Sure enough, Saaris came walking down the hallway with Doctor Cramer at her side.

The Vulcan greeted the two of them with a curt nod. "Both I and Doctor Cramer are going to investigate why the device self-destructed" she told them.

Schaffer didn't think that was a good idea at all. "You should be resting."

Cramer answered for the Vulcan. "I'll be keeping an eye on her."

He fell silent. Saaris had an idea. "Perhaps Doctor Schaffer could join us in the investigation?"

Cramer shrugged. "I suppose it's your call."

The Vulcan scientist addressed him directly. "Is that sufficient?"

He nodded in acceptance. "Sure, I'll help you."

N'reinn added her voice to the conversation. "Well, I hope you find the answer because so far our alien guest hasn't said much of anything and at this point, I don't think he will."

"Then it is up to me," Saaris said.

"I wish you luck," N'reinn told her. "And I'm glad you're up and about."

"Likewise, it was good to see you, Lieutenant Commander N'reinn."

"If you need me I'll be in operations." The Caitian turned and left while Cramer signed out at the front desk.

"Okay," Cramer said. "Let's go take a look at this device."

* * *

There was very little left of the device. Most of it had already been separated from the pieces of the scanner and placed into a container. The piece that Saaris was looking at was the base which had remained mostly intact.

The most surprising thing was that the material was simple copper and steel. This was completely unexpected and brought them no closer into understanding what exactly the device was or how it had worked.

Saaris was completely stumped.

In the lab with her was Amy Cramer, Paul Schaffer and the Andorian science officer who she had learned was called Shanti. None of them knew what to make of the discovery. It was baffling.

After a few moments of mulling over the results, Lieutenant Shanti spoke up. "What if the energy inside was what was blocking the scans? Neither copper or steel would be able to, at least not on its own."

Saaris nodded in agreement with this hypothesis. "That is the most likely explanation," she commented. "The question becomes what kind of energy and how did simple copper and steel contain it?"

Schaffer and Cramer had no clue. This was not their field of expertise. Shanti offered another random thought. "Maybe it didn't. Maybe this is just an outer shell that contained whatever device lay inside."

"Most likely," Saaris agreed. "Unfortunately, we cannot confirm or deny any of this. Too much of the device was destroyed."

This time Schaffer did speak up. "Maybe it was triggered by the scans and self-destructed because of it?"

Saaris nodded again. "It is possible. There may have been a failsafe that triggered when it was scanned in a specific way. It happened shortly after we discovered that the luminescence was not constant but had a pattern."

Shanti picked up a data slate. "There was also the transmission it sent out."

This was news to Saaris. "A transmission?" she asked intrigued.

Shanti nodded. "I have the data here," she said passing it over to the commander.

Saaris took a look at it. "The transmission appears analogue in nature with eighteen frequency spikes."

Shanti nodded. "Wasn't the cube's light blinking in a sequence of eighteen?"

Saaris thought back. "I believe it was," she said. "Was the data saved?"

"Unfortunately no. All logs of all the scans were corrupted," Shanti told her. "Not sure how."

Saaris' brow raised. "That is rather unfortunate. It appears that unless we somehow find a second device that we will never know what it held."

Schaffer thought of something. "What about surveillance logs? Perhaps they picked something up visual that will help us?"

Shanti shook her head. "We already went to look. Surveillance tapes were also corrupted. We have footage of before we even brought the device into the room and footage of us clearing up everything hours after the explosion but everything during is gone."

"That is suspect," Saaris commented.

Shanti agreed. "Definitely, but there's no sign of any tampering. It's as though the explosion itself was enough to corrupt and damage all electronic systems around it."

"Except the doors, artificial gravity plating, the light systems." Saaris shook her head. "It seems too precise."

"What does it mean?" Schaffer asked.

"I do not know," the Vulcan replied honestly.

Cramer asked, "Is there a way to repair the corrupt footage?"

"Perhaps," Saaris said. "But there is no guarantee that we would be able to make use out of what we were able to salvage. It is most likely that the tapes will show what we saw, which was a flash of light and heat as the device exploded."

"Worth a try?" Schaffer asked. "If we can salvage something we should, right?"

"As much as I would prefer otherwise simply because it will most likely turn out to be a waste of time and effort. However, it appears we may just have to. It may not be enough to even make a hypothesis but if we are able to see the device at the moment of the explosion it is possible that we might be able to catch a brief glimpse inside."

"Isn't that unlikely?" Schaffer questioned.

"Very," Saaris agreed. "Which is why I said it will most likely turn out to be a waste of time and effort."

Shanti shrugged. "Better than nothing."

Cramer decided to step in at that moment. "Let the lieutenant begin doing that. You still need to take it easy, Commander."

"May I ask why?" Saaris questioned the doctor. "You said that I had completely healed and I do not feel any fatigue or any other ailments."

"That's still a concern," Cramer said.

"What is?" Schaffer asked.

Cramer looked at him. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."

Schaffer wasn't impressed. "I'm her doctor."

Cramer folded her arms in defiance. "Not while onboard this station you're not."

Saaris decided not to argue. "Very well. Lieutenant Shanti, gather who you believe you may need and begin piecing together the surveillance footage."

"Yessir."

Saaris headed for the door followed by the two doctors. The moment they were out in the corridor Saaris spoke to Cramer. "I believe that Doctor Schaffer will be able to see me to my quarters."

Cramer smirked. "I said you should get some rest."

Saaris' brow raised. "I assure you that is what I intend."

Cramer winked. "Sure it is."

What Saaris said next made Schaffer cough. "We are not currently involved in a sexual relationship, so your concern in that regard is unwarranted."

"Have it your way," Cramer said with a grin plastered on her face. "Besides, you're coming back to sickbay, not your quarters. I want to keep an eye on you."

"Very well," Saaris accepted.

"If you two want to talk on your way back, then that's fine," Cramer said. "I'll meet you there." She winked again then walked off down the corridor towards the nearest turbolift.

"Curious," Saaris commented as they watched her go.

"She's just teasing us," Schaffer said.

"Quite," was Saaris' response as she began to walk up the corridor.

Schaffer quickly got into step. "What did she mean before. What is unusual?"

"According to her scans the brain damage I incurred during the destruction of the _Evergreen_ has healed."

"Impossible," Schaffer immediately dismissed. "That kind of damage could take years to heal even with therapy and most likely never would."

"That is what the good Doctor's scans showed. I had a hypothesis that perhaps the device was responsible based on nothing except that it had occurred."

He thought for a few moments. "That does explain why she was interested in the device. If it's true that it healed you, then that's-" he not only stopped in the middle of his sentence but also in the middle of the corridor.

"Is something wrong?" Saaris question as she also stopped walking and looked back at him.

"Do you realise what a device like that is worth? Think of the benefit it could have on people's lives. Healing in a box. It's absolutely incredible."

"If that is what it is," Saaris commented. "We have not identified whether that is its intended purpose or a side effect or even if it is connected at all."

"There's no way you healed on your own. Vulcans may be tough but you aren't supernatural."

She raised an eyebrow. "During my time in Starfleet I have heard many refer to the Vulcan people as "supernatural", especially regarding our melding ability."

"Yes, but there's a medical and scientific explanation for that."

"It is a shame the device was obliterated."

"Yeah," he said as the two began walking again.

"I do wonder what the individual we have in custody actually knows about the device."

"You wanna go see?" he asked.

"Unfortunately we do not have the authority or clearance."

"We could ask N'reinn," Schaffer suggested.

"We could, but we are not going to," Saaris said.

"Aren't you interested in what he knows?" Schaffer said.

"If Lieutenant Commander N'reinn was unable to get information out of him then I doubt that I will be able to."

"Couldn't you use some Vulcan mind tricks on him or something?"

She was unimpressed by that. "Vulcans do not use "mind tricks" and I am certainly not going to invade any individual's mind without permission."

Schaffer became defensive. "I didn't mean it like that. Forget I said it."

"I cannot simply choose to forget something. It has been said. All I can do is accept that you did not consider your thoughts before you spoke. It is one of your biggest flaws."

"Thanks," he mumbled sarcastically under his breath.

"It was not a compliment," she said missing the sarcasm.

He didn't respond as they stepped into the turbolift and gripped the control rods. Saaris gave their destination to the computer and the elevator began to descend.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter** **Sixteen**

Lieutenant Xern, the Tellarite security officer had been given time off to get over the death of his sister who had died in a transport accident. He didn't do well sat in his quarters and going down to the environmental enclosure didn't do it for him either.

So when the opportunity to keep his mind busy came up, he jumped at the chance.

Xern stepped into the security offices where he found Lieutenant Shanti, the overly eager science officer in surveillance room four.

"Thanks for coming," she said. "I know you're going through a tough time, but-" Xern held up a hand stopping her.

"You said something about corrupted surveillance data?" he asked, moving over to the wall of monitors.

"Right, we're recovering corrupted surveillance data."

"Do you know how it was corrupted?"

"None. It happened when an object we were studying blew up in our faces."

Xern was confused. "That shouldn't have been able to corrupt the surveillance footage. It isn't saved on site, but here at the security centre. When did you realise it was corrupted?"

"This morning," Shanti said.

"So could someone have messed with the data tapes?"

Shanti shrugged. "I don't see why anyone would want to other than the guy that's in the brig."

"What guy?"

"Some alien guy, don't know the species for sure, but I've heard Drayan mentioned."

"Don't know that species."

"Me neither," she said.

Xern cracked his knuckles. "Well, I guess we'll find out." He sat down behind the terminal "Let's just get this done."

* * *

Admiral Thalon sat forwards in his chair inside his office and prepared himself. Doctor Cramer had come to see him and he was certain that she was coming to berate him over his lack of exercise. He had gone on that one walk and not another since.

The truth was he was far too busy at the moment dealing with the Drayans and he wanted to be ready in the event they attacked.

The doors slid open and the doctor stepped into his office with a data slate in her grip.

"Please take a seat," he offered. "How may I help you today, doctor?" he asked.

She placed the data slate down onto his desk and sat down. "This is about Commander Saaris."

"Did you discover if it was the device or how it did it, or is it something else?"

"I have her in sickbay seeing if there are any more changes. There isn't anything that I can see, however, there are things in her medical record, small things such as a previously broken clavicle that she incurred on Vulcan when she was a young adult. Every medical profile every one of her doctors, including Paul Schaffer has built includes this fact. The records of all of her scans show the imperfection in the bone."

"I'm guessing it's healed?"

"Completely. That isn't all that's healed that shouldn't have. I'm honestly not sure what to make of it."

"Has it affected her mind?"

"Not that I can see. If it had, I would not have let her out of sickbay. She's physically fine and there's absolutely no medical reason to keep her in except for the how and why."

"You think she is a danger?"

"No, I don't think that, but as far as we know an unknown object has interacted with someone and altered parts of them. These alterations may have been in the form of alterations, but the long-term effects are unknown. I want to keep an eye on her for a while."

"You're the doctor," Thalon pointed out. "It's your decision."

"I know it is. I'm just at a loss. There's nothing in her bloodstream, we picked up no strange energy readings from her, we detected nothing unusual. There's no explanation. She healed while in sickbay, not before, so there should have been some indicators."

"Perhaps you should bring in the others that were in the room with her."

"I brought in two of the ensigns and ran some scans. One of them still has his medical condition, which I won't disclose and no sign that either were at all effected by this magical healing box."

"So it must be a proximity thing," Thalon surmised.

Cramer shrugged. "I have a terrible feeling that we're looking at this whole situation the wrong way, that we've jumped to the wrong conclusion. We have almost no data, no nothing on what actually happened."

"You sound more like a scientist than a doctor," Thalon observed.

"A doctor in Starfleet has to be a bit of both," she said with a slight shrug.

"What do you think actually happened?"

"What do I think? I have no clue. All we know is that an alien device popped its cork into the commander's face and somehow it healed her after injuring her in the first place."

"Could it have simply increased her body's ability to heal for a short period."

"Nope, because scarring would have been left on her face and her shoulder would still show signs of where it had previously been damaged. Something else happened and I don't know what it was. I know what it caused but I'm not going to be sleeping well until I know how it did what it did."

"Have you done all of the scans?"

"Every single one. Most have been done in the last few hours."

"Why not when she first came in?"

"Because face burns don't require all that much. We checked that she hadn't hit her head too hard, which there was no sign that she had and we checked the cellular damage to the dermis and tissues in her face which had been burned."

"Any discoveries?"

"Only that her electrolyte count was a little high. We gave her a shot to balance it out."

"That was all?"

"Yep, that was all."

Thalon leant back. "Maybe it's time we got some answers out of our guest."

"Haven't you tried before?"

"Yes, but know we have some idea what the device does."

"We think," Cramer stressed. "Because we might have gotten it wrong."

"What else could it be for?" Thalon asked.

"That's what worries me."

* * *

The doors to the brig slid open and Lieutenant Commander N'reinn stepped inside with Doctor Cramer at her side.

DenliLos rose up from where he was sat and stepped up to the forcefield. "How may I assist you today?" he asked politely.

N'reinn folded her arms. "It's about that device."

"Again?" he questioned as he sat back down. "I thought you had destroyed it?"

"It seems that it had some side effects on one of my friends who was stood right next to it when it exploded."

"An explosion will have adverse effects on soft tissue," he said.

Cramer decided to take it from here. "The person in question has healed."

"That is good news."

Cramer ignored his sarcasm. "Even old injuries have healed, ones that shouldn't have. What was the purpose of the device?"

He looked at her. "What do you think it is?" he asked right back.

"We're asking you," N'reinn said. "So answer the question."

"I believe you have already thought of your own truth regarding it. I would like to hear what you believe the object was?"

Cramer and N'reinn exchanged an annoyed glance before the doctor spoke. "It appears to be some kind of healing device, but I think there's more to it."

"Why do you think there's more to it?" DenliLos asked her.

N'reinn stepped right up to the forcefield staring him down. "Stop playing games with us. Doctor Cramer asked you a question, so answer it."

"Things have been set in motion," he said cryptically. "By the time you know what is happening it will already be too late. The Drayan military will come, you will defeat the and they will either flee or be destroyed. They will not allow themselves to be captured. With their defeat, we may have a chance."

"We?" Cramer asked. "Who is we?"

"The ones that resist the martial law that has been imposed. We will take our planet back and our gracious ruler will once again lead our people in peace and prosperity."

N'reinn stepped away from the forcefield. "I thought your leader was dead?" she asked as she stood back beside Cramer.

"If I say more, then it will ruin the fun."

"What fun?" Cramer asked.

DenliLos tapped his head. "Things are in motion, things that I cannot risk being stopped. The future of an entire world is at risk and I will not be the one that risks it. I have already given more clues than you have any right to know. It is up to you to put the pieces together."

"What does that mean?" N'reinn demanded.

DenliLos said nothing more as he sat back down, resting his hands on his knees.

"What does it mean?" N'reinn repeated more forcefully. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Their guest had other ideas. As with before he essentially shut himself down. N'reinn stood and stared at him until Cramer waved her hand in front of her face.

The security chief shot an annoyed look at the doctor. "There's no need for that."

"I was asking a question."

"You were?"

"You seemed to zone out there."

"I was thinking," N'reinn told her.

"About what?"

"Whether dropping this forcefield and beating the information out of him would result in me being relieved of duty."

Cramer shook her head. "I doubt that would work."

N'reinn took one last look at DenliLos before she turned and headed out of the brig, Cramer following close behind.

As soon as the doors had finished sliding shut, the doctor spoke. "Well, he's certainly an interesting one."

"Infuriating is more apt. He's taunting us. Teasing information that he knows. I have to admit, I think Xern would be a lot better at this than I am."

"Xern is on leave," Cramer reminded her.

"He was but he agreed to help Lieutenant Shanti with those security tapes from the lab."

"Is that a good idea?" Cramer asked.

"He needed something to keep his mind busy."

"I can understand that. I better go check on Saaris. Some of the things he said have me concerned."

"You and me both, Doctor," N'reinn agreed wholeheartedly. "I'll go see how Shanti and Xern are doing."

"That's a good idea. I hope he's doing better."

"I think he is. He was ready to get back to work."

"I hope you find something."

"As do I."

The two parted ways, Cramer heading back to the medical centre while N'reinn made her way to the security offices which were a few doors down from the brig.

The doors opened and she waved to a few of the security personnel who were manning some of the stations and she made her way directly into surveillance room four where she found Shanti and Xern sat talking.

Instantly they both stood up. "Commander," Shanti greeted.

"How's it going?"

Xern answered. "The computer is currently running a script that should fix the bad sectors on the recording. Then we'll have to do manual clean-up."

"How long?"

"A few hours left still," Xern said. "Though there is the question of how it was corrupted in the first place."

"I've been thinking the same," N'reinn said. "But there're so many unknowns we're having to deal with that I don't know if there is an answer. Keep it up, I'll be back after my watch shift in the operations centre has ended in four hours."

"Hopefully we'll be done by then," Shanti said.

"If not, then finish up tomorrow. I'll have the room locked so no one interferes with your progress.."

"Understood," Shanti acknowledged.

N'reinn swiftly left and made her way up to the operations centre.

* * *

Cramer rubbed her eyes. The Vulcan Commander was certainly proving to be an interesting case. She had come in with some burns and shrapnel damage to her face and so Cramer had done the standard tests and gone through the standard treatments. But as it turned out, this case was anything but standard.

Since Saaris had returned to the sickbay from their brief and rather pointless excursion to the science lab where the device had exploded, the doctor had run more tests. This time she decided to run every test she could think of in an attempt to find out what exactly was going on inside the Vulcan's body.

While Saaris was now healthier than she had been in years, better than what should be possible.

Naturally DNA, cells, pretty much everything inside a biological organism aged. This came in the form of replication errors or other forms of damage that accumulated over a lifespan. This damage could be accelerated or slowed depending on the life one lived, but no matter how healthy or how careful, all living things aged.

Commander Saaris, on the other hand, was an anomaly. While her cells seemed to now be functioning properly, a lot of the natural damage had been repaired somehow. This was fascinating to Cramer, especially when she had decided to do an age analysis, which put her at Vulcan age of forty-three, twenty-five years younger than her actual age of sixty-eight.

While seventy years was still classified as fairly young for a Vulcan, gaining an extra thirty years was still substantial.

Cramer looked up from her monitor as Nurse Petra Grace, her niece stepped into her office. "You look tired," she observed, looking at the doctor.

Cramer leant back in her chair. "This whole thing with Saaris is doing my nut in," she said candidly.

Petra laughed. "She is certainly becoming the subject of discussion around here."

"I'm at a loss. I have no clue what's going on, or rather what was going on."

"Was?"

Yeah, looking deeper at her scans I found that at some point she was essentially getting younger then it stopped."

Petra looked sceptical. "Getting younger? Really?"

"Well more like cells were repairing themselves. She's still technically the same age but physically she's lost a good three decades."

"Wow, I need to get me one of those magic boxes," Petra said sitting down opposite her aunt.

"You and me both. But as far as I know, it was a one of a kind."

"Pity."

Cramer picked up her empty coffee mug and held it out. "Be a darling and get me a refill."

Petra took the mug off of her. "I should refuse, but considering-"

"-I'm your boss, you better do as you're told" Cramer finished with a sly smile. "Hop to it, that coffee won't fetch itself."

"It might take a while, I need to find the laxative first."

Cramer held up her medical tricorder. "If I find anything in it, you'll be in deep trouble."

Petra laughed as she left the office while Cramer leant right back in her chair feeling a lot more relaxed. Her niece always knew how to take her mind off things.

Unfortunately, her mind quickly began to dwell on the problem at hand. She had a mystery to solve and she had no clue as to how to solve it. There were no foreign traces of any elements or compounds or strange energy readings in the commander's body that could explain what had occurred.

The door to her office slid open and Petra handed the steaming coffee over to her. "Thanks."

"Do you think this will cause health issues down the road?" Petra asked her.

Cramer gave her a sideways glance. "You mean the coffee?"

Petra chuckled. "No, what's been going on with Saaris."

Cramer shrugged. "There's nothing quite like this in the medical database, which means I have no clue. All we can do for now is observe her and see if anything else changes."

"For how long, though?" Petra asked. "We can't keep her in here without good reason."

"A few more days," Cramer said. "But from what I can see, her body has settled down and all of her functions are back to normal or at the very least they appear to be." Cramer picked up her coffee and took a sip. "If it stays that way, then I don't really have any reason to keep her."

"Must be tough for you."

"Why?"

"This is a huge mystery and you don't know how to solve it."

"Yeah, I admit I would love to be able to find something in one of these scans, an enzyme, some sort of catalyst, a compound, anything that would give me a hint. I know something's happened to her, just not exactly what, why or how."

"Maybe it's not chemistry that did this," Petra suggested.

"The thought has crossed my mind. I've actually looked at some of the medical logs from some of the exploration ships, at least the ones that aren't classified."

"What did you find?"

"They've seen some weird stuff out there, stuff that doesn't quite fit into what we know about medicine and other stuff that should be impossible. So you're right, it could be that I can't find whatever caused this because it is beyond our current understanding."

"That must drive you insane," Petra commented.

"A little bit, but if there is something to find, I plan on finding it. I just have no idea how at the moment and that's the problem."

"You'll figure something out."

"Easy to say, not nearly as easy to do. Maybe I'll use a standard tricorder, see if there's anything it can pick up."

"Like what?"

Cramer shrugged. "I don't know, maybe she has a subspace field around her or something else that a medical tricorder isn't designed to look for," she threw out randomly.

"Good luck."

"I'll need it. I think I might call it an early night tonight and come back in early tomorrow. With a fresh day might come fresh ideas."

"You won't be sleeping with that coffee down your neck," Petra pointed out.

Cramer's response was sarcastic but in a good-natured way. "It's a good thing that I'm gonna be in here for another hour before heading back to my quarters then, isn't it."

"Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then. I have some rounds I have to do before the end of my own shift."

"I'll see you later, then." Cramer held up the mug. "And thanks for the coffee."

"I am your personal coffee girl it seems."

Cramer chuckled. "You're a fine nurse as well."

"I'm glad that comes second to fetching you coffee."

"Of course, my coffee is important."

"I'll see you, then." Petra headed out of the office and once the doors were closed Cramer sat back and put her feet up on her desk. She decided to take it easy for the final hour of what had been a long day.

Tomorrow she would hopefully find some answers.

* * *

Up in the Operations Centre, things were fairly quiet. Commander Gessi stood in the centre of the room on watch and Lieutenant Commander N'reinn sat at the tactical station running through some final weapon checks.

The Drayan fleet was still holding roughly a light year away, which even at warp speeds was hours away. This did give them plenty time to prepare for the attack when they did finally decide it was time to come fight.

The time to start preparing soon came.

The young ensign sat at the communications station turned around in her chair. " _Overwatch-Two_ reports that the largest of the Drayan ships has hailed them and is requesting to be escorted here."

That surprised N'reinn, as did it the Commander. "Now they want to talk?" Gessi hit a button on the central console. "OC to Admiral Thalon."

There was a moment's pause before the admiral replied. _"What is it, Commander?"_

"One of the Drayan ships is requesting an escort to the station."

" _Fantastic news, maybe we can actually talk to them. And avoid a fight."_

"Should I inform _Overwatch-Two_ to escort them, sir?"

" _Of course. ETA?"_

"Unsure. It could be the best part of a day depending on how much of a hurry they're in."

" _Have them arrive for first thing in the morning. Take a leisurely pace."_

"Understood sir."

N'reinn turned her attention back to the results of the last weapons check. One ship wouldn't stand a chance against them, so she was doubting they would attack, not without their fleet anyway. It was possible they would try and catch them off guard, try and cause some damage so their fleet would have an easier time.

But that would be suicide for the ship that was now on its way. Quickly, she a time check of how long it took to raise the station's shields. It was slow, taking over twelve times as long as a top-line starship, but they were a lot stronger given the size and output of their power core.

Honestly, she hoped they were here to talk. Despite being a security and tactical officer, she did not relish fighting. Sure, it could be a thrill to be locked in battle, but it was still something she sought to avoid if she could.

Hopefully, the admiral was a good speaker and could end this conflict before it truly began, because war out here on the frontier with increasing tensions between the Romulans, Klingons, Tholians and the Gorn, the last thing they needed was yet another enemy blocking off yet another avenue of exploration.

At the rate they were going, the Federation would end up surrounded and with nowhere to go, their primary goal of seeking new life would stagnate.

N'reinn decided for the rest of her duty shift, to see if she could decrease the time it took to raise the shields. The only thing she could think of was more emitters, but that was a project that would take more time then they were afforded.

Still, she got to work on solving the problem.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter** **Seven** **teen**

Down in the small security surveillance room, Xern and Shanti sat and waited while the computer ran through what they hoped would be the final pass on the corrupted surveillance footage.

If they had just wanted the visual, then it would have been done hours ago, but they wanted everything, including the sensor data.

Xern was starting to doze off when the computer elicited three beeps indicating it was finished.

Shanti leant forward and pressed a few buttons on the console. "Let's see if it managed to repair it."

The image of the science lab appeared on the terminal in front of them. On the screen was Commander Saaris, Shanti and the two ensigns Keyes and Halpern. The footage was paused making them all appear frozen in time.

"Looks good so far," Xern commented.

Shanti nodded. "This appears to be before we took the device to the spectral analyser." She shifted in her seat. "Okay, computer forward two minutes."

The image changed and it showed them all watching the spectral analyzer which was now on taking a reading.

"Is this when it blew up?" Xern asked.

"No. Computer forward one minute and playback footage."

The image shifted again and sound started to play.

Shanti sat and watched her past self speak on the monitor. _"There is a frequency pattern that repeats every twelve nanoseconds with eighteen blinks where there is absolutely no emission of energy. Each blink lasts four attoseconds each."_

" _What does it mean?"_ Halpern had asked.

Saaris then responded with, _"That is something we must find out. These are very precise frequency patterns within an incomprehensibly short time frame. It is by all accounts the very definition of fascinating."_

That was when Halpern had snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. Watching it back made Shanti cringe, especially with the annoyed look that had been on Saaris' face.

"Pause playback," Shanti instructed the computer. "Ahead thirty seconds and playback footage."

The monitor showed Commander Saaris stepping up to the analyser. _"_ _If you have all stopped acting immature,_ _we must-"_ She was cut off mid-sentence as there was a bright blinding flash. A moment later she was on the floor and the others were still shielding their eyes from it.

"Pause," Shanti said. "Back ten seconds, playback footage at one-eighth speed."

They saw little else other than the flash of light, this time in super slow motion.

Xern shook his head. "I doubt we will be able to salvage anything from this."

Shanti wasn't going to give up. "Computer, give us the thermal capture and replay last segment, same speed."

Again, the flash of light was hot, blinding most of the field of vision that was on the display. But there was a flash of something colder in the midst of the explosion, almost like a streak of energy, but it was there for a mere moment, even in at one-eighth speed.

"How slow does it go?" She asked Xern.

"As slow as one-twentieth speed, before the frames start to drop and we get stutter."

"Why not slower?"

"Seen as a waste of space," Xern told her.

Shanti frowned. "A waste of space?"

"All that data needs to be saved somewhere."

"I guess we look at one-twentieth speed and see if we can see what it is. Might be just an anomaly in the recording that the computer couldn't repair."

"Possible," Xern agreed. "Computer, slow to one-twentieth speed and replay last segment."

The two of them watched eagerly as they re-watched the footage still in infrared. Everyone on the screen moved almost too slow to notice any motion at all.

It seemed to take an age before the explosion happened. It expanded out quickly, ripping apart the scanner the device was inside.

Shanti spoke up. "Computer, pause playback and zoom in on-screen segment G3 and analyse the composition of non-common materials."

The computer computed for a few moments before its robotic voice answered. "COMPOSITION OF UNCOMMON MATERIALS IS UNKNOWN."

Shanti decided on a different approach. "What about common materials?"

The computer once again thought for a moment before it gave its response. "COMPOSITION OF MATERIALS PRESENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: THIRTY-SIX PERCENT NITROGEN, FOUR PERCENT OXYGEN."

"Stop," Xern said looking to Shanti. "The computer is analysing everything, including the atmosphere."

"Computer, analyse explosion from the spectral scanner and exclude materials the scanner is constructed from."

Yet again the computer analysed before giving its response. "COPPER, FIVE PERCENT. OTHER MATERIALS OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN."

Xern shook his head. "Pointless," he muttered.

Shanti ignored him. "Computer, resume playback."

They watched as the explosion expanded, filling most of the screen, then came the flash of cold in the heat that stretched out of the device. For a moment, she thought she saw a face in it, but for only a fraction of a second.

Shanti decided to try something else. "Computer, change image back to standard from infrared and super impose cold area in the explosion's centre and super-impose it back onto the first frame of current playback segment."

The computer did as instructed and it showed the blue streak of cold energy had exited the scanner to where the commander had been standing.

Xern leant forwards. "Does that look like a face to you?" he asked pointing at the energy.

"Yes," she said, looking at the rather creepy stretched out "face" that almost looked superimposed into the frame.

He looked to Shanti. "Do you think some alien energy being has taken over the commander?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Well someone had to have tried to corrupt these recordings."

Shanti disagreed with that. "It can't have been her, she's been in sickbay."

"Maybe she used one of those Vulcan mind tricks to get someone else to do it?" he supposed.

She stared at the image for a few more moments. "Computer, what is this cold energy?"

"UNKNOWN."

"Is it alive?"

"UNKNOWN."

"Did it enter Commander Saaris' body?"

"UNKNOWN ENERGY WAS ABSORBED BY COMMANDER SAARIS."

"We need to inform the security chief," Xern said.

"And Doctor Cramer," Shanti added.

* * *

At the same moment the two officers were discovering the uncomfortable truth about Saaris, _Overwatch_ -Two and the Drayan heavy cruiser it was escorting arrived at the starbase and in Admiral Thalon's estimation it was still far too quickly.

Despite his reservations, the admiral had done his best to ensure that everyone was ready for their arrival. Thalon himself was even prepared to invite the Drayan senior officers onto the station to have a full discussion if they were willing.

He both hoped they were and also were not. He would hate for all of this to go to waste and he was really hoping to start a dialogue, but hated the idea of having those aboard his station that had so callously wiped out one Federation colony and brutally attacked the other. That fact made him also wonder whether anything positive could come of this or whether this was a huge waste of time.

Thalon stared up at the screen which displayed the two vessels. After a moment he spoke. "Open a channel."

Lieutenant Rivera acknowledged. "Aye, sir."

With the channel open and the alien captain's face looming large on the viewscreen, Thalon wasted no more time and introduced himself. "Welcome to Starbase 59 designated as Overwatch. I am Admiral Thalon."

The first words from the Drayan captain did not bode well. _"Hand over the vessel, immediately. Failure to comply will be met with force."_ Pleasantries were clearly off the table.

Thalon kept his calm, despite the hostility of the other commander and the fact that he had no idea what he was talking about. "I am unsure what you mean. What vessel are you referring to?"

" _The Vessel. Give it to me."_

Thalon remained as diplomatic as he could while attempting to glean more information out of him. "If we can assist, I assure you we will. But you will have to be more concise."

The Drayan commander looked displeased. _"The cubic object that was with DenliLos. We know you have it. You will hand it over."_

Thalon straightened his tunic, hoping what he said next didn't cause an incident. "Unfortunately, the device was destroyed."

" _Was anyone near it?"_ the captain demanded.

"Unfortunately, yes. One of our officers was injured."

"That is unfortunate," he said looking even more displeased than before.

Thalon remained as diplomatic as he could, despite feeling the conversation had already taken a bad turn. "If we can assist we will, but we need information on what is going on. We do not want to have a conflict with your people if we can avoid it but this conversation we are having has to go both ways."

The alien commander looked away and all audio was cut for a few moments while he appeared to talk with someone. _"The Vessel that was destroyed held the former queen of our people. The Vessel's destruction_ _was not an accident. The parasite has_ _joined with a subservient host body, most likely the one that was injured. You will hand this person over to us or we will have to ensure_ _the parasite's destruction by other means_ _."_

"I cannot let you take one of my officers. If she has been infected by some parasitic life form, then we will find a way to-"

" _No,"_ the Drayan commander interrupted. _"You cannot save them. The Parasite will be with them until the body is destroyed. We can not allow it to exist any longer. You will hand over your infected officer or we will destroy you."_

"I can't do that," Thalon told him. "I will not have you murder one of my officers. There has to be another way." The admiral barely got to finish his sentence when the image of the other commander suddenly cut out, replaced by the image of the blue nebula that lay three light years from the station.

That was not a good sign.

N'reinn kept her eyes on the Drayan ship's weapons. They were still cold, but there was an increase in power output from their main reactor.

The ship suddenly turned around and jumped to warp.

"What the hell just happened?" Commander Gessi asked as he ran his hand through his dark hair.

Thalon turned to him. "It seems that Commander Saaris down in sickbay might not be who we think she is, at least not anymore."

* * *

The senior officers, Admiral Thalon, Commander Gessi, Commander Cramer and Lieutenant Commander N'reinn sat around the conference table while Shanti and Xern showed them the footage they had uncovered. It all but confirmed what the Drayan commander had told them and it was certainly not good news.

Thalon wasted no time addressing Cramer. "Is there anything you can do?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. I can't even detect this other life form let alone figure out how to get it out of her."

"There has to be a way," Thalon urged.

Cramer sounded a little defeated. "Maybe, but it's beyond me. At least without more information on what the creature is or how it functions."

"Does she pose a threat?" Gessi asked her, referring to Saaris.

The doctor shrugged. "How should I know? Apart from the short trek to the science lab, she's pretty much sat in sickbay this whole time."

"We could go pay Saaris a visit," Gessi suggested. "Maybe we could communicate with this thing? Get some answers on what it wants?"

"That might not be a good idea," Thalon said.

"The guy in the brig, then?" Gessi said. "We need answers, sir. We need to know how to save our officer."

Thalon looked over to N'reinn. "You've been quiet so far. Anything you want to add?"

The Caitian shrugged. "Honestly? I don't even know what to say. She's already been through a lot and now this?"

Thalon webbed his fingers and rested his arms on the table. He agreed with his security chief. Saaris had already been through a lot in the last few weeks, they all had, at least those that had been aboard the _Evergreen_ when it had been destroyed by the Klingons. He cleared his throat. "We need to put our feelings aside and figure out what to do next? Do we reveal to Saaris that we know?"

Cramer asked. "Does she even know she's a symbiont? She could be completely unaware that anything's wrong."

Gessi was dismissive. "I find that hard to believe. How could she not know there was something alien in her head?"

"How could it not show up in any of my scans?" Cramer asked right back. "There should at least have been a difference in brainwave patterns if it was affecting her mentally."

"Unless it hid itself when you scanned her," Gessi pointed out. "We know nothing about it as you said yourself, doctor."

Thalon nodded in partial agreement "I think it's clear that none of us really know what it is we are dealing with. I think the best course of action is to speak with DenliLos in the brig and see if he knows anything."

"He won't betray his queen," N'reinn said firmly.

"What if we tell him that we know what's going on?" Gessi suggested. "He might be more willing to talk if he thinks she's in danger."

Cramer disagreed. "Or he might tell us what he thinks we want to hear regardless of whether or not it's true. You must know the history of persuasion. You can get people to say whatever you want. People have even admitted to crimes they did not commit under pressure."

"We can only ask," Thalon said.

"Or we could get serious," Gessi said. "He's not been cooperating with us and we need answers and we need them now!"

"DenliLos is loyal, we can't fault him for that," N'reinn objected.

"So were the Klingons that blew up your ship," Gessi argued. "He's loyal to his own and that is not good for us, not one iota. We need to make him realise that talking to us is in his best interests. We can't pussyfoot around any longer, not when a life is at risk."

"That's enough, Commander," Thalon said, not wanting this meeting to deteriorate into an argument. Unfortunately, he suspected that Gessi was right. The thing was that so was Cramer. "I have faith that we'll get the information that we need," Thalon added after a few moments.

"Faith doesn't get results," Gessi objected.

"Neither do bad attitudes," Thalon shot back. "If you want a crack at it commander, go right ahead."

"Is that an order, sir?" Gessi asked.

"If you want it to be," Thalon replied. "I simply want some answers as to what exactly is going on."

"And I doubt he'll tell," Gessi said. "I think we should go to the source. Question Saaris."

Thalon took a long look at the faces sat at the table before he made his decision. "We try DenliLos one more time, then we focus on Saaris herself."

Cramer spoke up. "When we do, we can't go in demanding answers. This may come as a shock to her and she might initially reject what we're telling her."

"If she doesn't already know," Gessi pointed out. "Remember, we might not be talking to her, we might be talking straight to the parasite that might also have access to all of her memories. It might be impossible to tell."

"Yes, it might," Cramer agreed, "But we simply don't know."

Thalon agreed. "No, we don't." He turned to N'reinn. "I want both you and Commander Gessi to talk to DenliLos. We'll discuss anything and everything afterwards. We then talk to Commander Saaris." He looked to Gessi. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Gessi acknowledged.

"We understand," N'reinn added.

"Dismissed."

* * *

N'reinn and Gessi stepped into the brig and made their way over to DenliLos who was sat quietly on the small bench, He looked up at them and rose, taking position opposite the forcefield.

"More questions?" he asked.

Gessi got right to the point. "We know all about your queen and how she's some kind of parasite. She's in one of our officers and we need to know how to get it out."

N'reinn was not happy. This was not how you got anyone to talk to you.

As she predicted, DenliLos turned his back on them. "My queen is not a parasite. You call her that because you cannot comprehend."

N'reinn tried to salvage the situation but feared the damage had already been done. "We can understand if you'll explain it to us. The cube device held your queen and it was destroyed when she left it to join with a new host, correct?"

He turned to look at her. "She would have found someone that was compatible."

"Are there more like her?" Gessi questioned. "Was there more in that cube than just her?"

"Our queen is divine. There are none in the universe like her, none whatsoever."

"What does she want with our officer?" Gessi demanded. "If she is so powerful, then why does she need a host?"

"To lower herself to our level."

"Lower herself?" Gessi asked.

"She is beyond our comprehension. She must join to interact, to become like us."

Gessi continued his line of questioning. "Then why did she need to be contained within that box if she is so divine and powerful?"

"So that she could be transported. Our ruler, the Transcendent has no form and cannot normally be contained unless she is in a specific vessel."

"What are her intentions?"

"To be our Shepard."

"So you're all sheep?" Gessi questioned. "Maybe your people rebelled against her because they feel they're being held back. Maybe it's time that you so-called queen let your people grow on their own."

"We cannot be trusted. We are violent."

"A lot of species used to be violent. How long has she ruled your people? Hundreds of years?"

"Millennia," DenliLos responded. "She came when we were simple savages fighting and killing over nothing but gold and land back when we still used animals to get around. She showed us the way, let us focus ourselves not on how to kill, but how to be better."

Gessi was far from impressed by the answer. "The races of the Federation discovered that on their own and I'm sure your people would have as well, given time."

"You don't know our people," DenliLos said. "What we were like."

"Humans were very much the same," Gessi told him. "Warlike, very tribal. Killing those that were from a different tribe, then a different country. Over religion, over land, over power. Most species have a similar history in this regard, the Vulcans in particular believe it or not."

"Perhaps so, but she still helped us, she is still the saviour of our people."

"She's inserted herself into one of our people without permission," Gessi finished off. "That goes against Saaris' rights as an individual, as a person. We cannot sit idly by and let this infestation grow. We will figure out a way to remove this parasite."

DenliLos disagreed vehemently. "You cannot. Once she is one with a person, the only way is through death of the vessel."

"How many times has she moved from one person to another?"

"Once," DenliLos told them.

That surprised the two of them. "You mean Saaris is the second host body?"

"Correct."

"How long was she in her previous body?" N'reinn asked.

"Millennia. When joined, neither age. They are in perfect balance."

Gessi had heard enough. He turned and headed for the exit while N'reinn remained. "Thank you for your cooperation," she said to him before she too turned and left.

* * *

Things were becoming very interesting, or at least Captain T'kinta of the _IKS K'intlaj_ thought so.

They had managed to intercept some of the conversation, enough to discover that one of the Starfleet officers had been infested by some kind of parasite. As to what kind, she had no idea. What they had managed to hear was incomplete, an unfortunate side effect of the cloak and their need to remain hidden from sensors.

It would be quite humorous if the entire station succumbed to the parasite, but she had concluded that it wasn't something that could be passed on judging by what little of the conversation they had managed to hear.

Despite the setback that Kroless had wrought on their mission, they were certainly back on track. But was there any real benefit to gathering this information? This area of space was too far from the empire to be of any use and so far there was no sign of any ulterior motive of expanding out this way.

Wruk, her former commander had stated that this might be a waste of effort. He had said as much to his superior who had issued this mission.

But Wruk was dead and she was in charge. She could easily return to Klingon space, declaring this mission a failure. They certainly were now lacking the crew thanks to Kroless' treachery and the ship was damaged with no hope of being able to properly repair, at least without access to a space dock.

But no, she would not bear the shame. She would stay out here and as planned make the first report in four months at the designated rendezvous point. From there it would be determined whether continuing the mission would be of any worth.

She would make it clear that she felt it wasn't. At least unless something of interest was discovered and the Federation having a spat with the locals was not really of any interest. Entertainment value, sure but little else other than that.

She had a terrible feeling that in the end, this would be a waste of time and a waste of able warriors.

She hoped it wouldn't, but more often than not, her gut feelings often turned out to be true.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter** **Eighteen**

Paul Schaffer stepped into the admiral's office, unsure as to why he wanted to see him. It wasn't as though he was assigned to the station, he was on temporary leave.

The Admiral wasted no time "Sit down," the Andorian said, gesturing to the seat opposite.

Schaffer took the seat and waited. He had no clue as to why the admiral had called him here, but just from his body language and expression, he could tell it wasn't good news. The first thing that came to mind was that they had found something was wrong with Saaris, something they had not detected prior.

"I'm going to be frank with you," Thalon said webbing his fingers as he rested them on his desks dark surface. "You're not going to like what I have to say, but I'm afraid it's the truth."

The doctor was instantly on guard. "What is it? What's going on?"

"First I need to ask you. Has Saaris been acting out of the ordinary?"

That was an odd question. "Since the destruction of the ship? Of course. She has, or rather she did have brain damage."

"I mean since the incident in the science lab. I know this might sound strange to ask, but it is important."

Schaffer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, I suppose she's been acting more like her old self. She did seem a little out of it, but that is understandable. She was involved in an explosion."

"Is that all?" Thalon asked leaning forward in his chair. "You've not noticed anything else?"

Schaffer had no clue as to what the admiral was getting at, but he was definitely holding something back. "Sir, you said you would be frank. This is the opposite of that. You're being rather cagey. What's going on? Is something wrong with her?"

Thalon webbed his fingers together as he looked him dead in the eye. "I'm afraid that she has some kind of alien consciousness inside her."

Schaffer stared for a moment, trying to gauge what he had just been told. "What kind of consciousness?" he said finally. "Can it be removed?"

"Apparently the entity is some being that has ruled the Drayans for millennia. As for whether it can be removed? Honestly I have no idea, neither does Doctor Cramer."

"Was that what that cube was holding? This being?" Schaffer asked the admiral.

Thalon nodded. "Yes it was. Getting back to the commander, you mentioned that she was out of it. Can you describe it?"

"She seemed confused." Schaffer looked down at his lap as suddenly things started to fall into place. "Oh my God," he whispered. "She forgot things like she didn't realise I was there, then acted as though I had just arrived." He remembered back. "She touched my face, said I wasn't compatible."

That caught the admiral's attention. "Compatible?" he repeated. "What did she mean by that?"

"I have no idea," Schaffer said, but thinking about it, it didn't at all sound good. A thought crossed his mind. "If this thing can enter people, then maybe that's what it meant. That humans weren't compatible with it?"

Thalon slowly nodded, accepting that hypothesis. "Then that means this creature could be able to body jump." The admiral reached forward and pressed down the intercom, the full ramifications of what that could mean not quite setting in for either of them. "Thalon to Cramer."

There was a delay before the doctor responded. _"Yes, Admiral?"_

"According to Schaffer, Saaris touched his face and declared he wasn't compatible. We believe that this could mean the creature can jump to different people if compatible." There was silence. "Doctor?"

" _I heard,"_ she said with a sigh. _"This is not good news. That could mean that the lifeform might no longer even inside the commander and could be in anyone."_

"I need you to ask any of your personnel that has seen to her whether they've had memory blackouts or they've seen anything out of the ordinary."

" _You said that Saaris said that Schaffer was not compatible. Did she mean humans or just him?"_

Thalon looked to Schaffer who shrugged in response. "How should I know?" he answered. "I didn't even know she had some entity inside her until you told me just now."

"We'll have to figure this out," Thalon said over the line. "You did say that for a period of time that her body had undergone an odd change that is no longer happening?"

" _That's correct,"_ Cramer confirmed. _"Could be that her cells all returning to normal function was due to the creature having left."_

"Then it has left?"

" _A good possibility, but I have no idea what this so-called entity even is, how it functions or even how to detect it without doing a cellular scan. It seems to be very good at hiding."_

That was not at all what Thalon wanted to hear. "Then it could be anywhere inside anyone?"

" _That could be the case, yes."_

"So we could have a potentially dangerous life form loose aboard this station that we can only track by doing invasive cellular scans?"

" _That is unfortunately correct."_

"Thank you doctor for making sure I never sleep again. Thalon out." He ended the call and looked to Schaffer. "This is classified, doctor. Do not share this with anyone, understand?"

Schaffer nodded. "Understood sir."

"I hate to do this, but you are not permitted to see her until we can be certain she is free of this thing."

Schaffer nodded glumly, his eyes shifting downwards. "Understood."

"Dismissed."

The doctor rose up from his seat and slowly left the admiral's office. He had no idea what to think regarding what he had just been told. But he felt he needed to head down to the bar and grab a drink.

* * *

Doctor Amy Cramer was now deeply worried. The possibility that this life form was no longer inside Saaris, while good for the commander, was also very, very bad. Mainly because that meant it could be in anyone, anywhere on the station.

So far no one had noticed anything of particular interest and she was afraid no one would have. It was entirely possible that the life form was still within the commander and was simply hiding wanting them to believe it had moved on. Or maybe they had simply jumped to an erroneous conclusion.

The door to her office opened and a young nurse stepped inside. He was the next on her list.

"Sit down," Cramer said. He did so and she began. "I'll get straight to the point. Have you noticed anything unusual regarding Commander Saaris, the Vulcan in room four?"

"Unusual?" he asked. "What do you mean, Doctor?"

"Has she interacted with anyone in a strange way? Done anything that caught your attention?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, when I went to check on the patient one time she was touching the new security chief's face."

Cramer leant forward now intrigued. "Describe it."

"Well, I stepped inside and the two just seemed to be having a moment, so I waited."

"How long was this moment?"

"Maybe thirty seconds, maybe longer. When they finished, the patient seemed a little confused. Actually, both seemed a little confused."

Cramer clenched her jaw, not liking what she was being told. "Thank you. Please don't speak with anyone regarding what we've talked about. Understand?"

He nodded. "Understood, Doctor."

"Now, you're excused. And good job."

"Thank you Doctor," he said as he rose up out of his chair and left her office.

Cramer leant back in her chair deeply troubled. Commander N'reinn? If the life form had managed to get into her head then it knew everything they knew, maybe more.

She had to tell the admiral, but she didn't quite trust the intercom, not if N'reinn had been compromised. She stood up and made her way out of her office. She was hoping she was wrong, she really did, but it somewhat made sense. Remaining in Saaris meant the life form would be stuck in sickbay and N'reinn had access to the prisoner in the brig.

Again, she hoped she was wrong because removing the security chief and tactical officer from duty before a possible impending battle was not in their best interest.

Then again, leaving her unchecked when she could be compromised would be far worse.

She just hoped she was making the right call.

* * *

Confused. That's how Lieutenant Commander N'reinn felt as she was led towards sickbay under the watch of two of her own security officers who were under direct orders from the admiral.

The three of them stopped by the reception desk, where a nurse contacted Cramer. She soon arrived and it didn't go unnoticed by N'reinn that she was eyeing her more than a little suspiciously.

She was then led to an examination room where she found Admiral Thalon stood waiting, also giving her a suspicious look.

With the doors closed, she decided to confront them. "What's going on?" she questioned.

Thalon glanced at her then to the doctor then back again. "We're just doing a needed check-up."

That was definitely a lie. "Sir, I think I deserve an explanation?"

It was Cramer that answered. "Just some concerns. Please lay down on the bed."

N'reinn didn't move. "Concerns about what?"

Thalon's posture straightened. "Lieutenant Commander, please just do as the doctor says. We'll explain once she's finished her scans, I promise you."

"This has something to do with Saaris, right?" N'reinn questioned, wanting to get to the bottom of this. "You think she's been influencing people or something?"

"Please," Thalon said gesturing at the bed. "Lay down and let Doctor Cramer do her scans."

"Okay," N'reinn reluctantly agreed. "I don't know what you expect to find, though." She moved over to the bed and laid down in it. The monitor instantly sprung into life and began to monitor her functions.

Cramer moved over to her and began her scans. Thalon and the two security officers stood in the corner and watched.

The scans took some time and at one point N'reinn even had a device attached to her head. Then the doctor left while the admiral remained.

"Now are you going to tell me what's going on?" N'reinn asked him.

"Did Saaris meld with you?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Did she touch your face at all?"

N'reinn became defensive. "Yeah, she did. But it was only for a few seconds. She seemed lonely."

"According to a nurse, it was more than a few seconds."

"What are you saying, sir?" Thalon turned away from her without answering her question. She asked it again. "Sir, what are you trying to say?"

He turned back to face her. "That you might have this life form inside you."

N'reinn shook her head. "Sir, that's not possible."

"Why not?"

"I think I would notice."

"Saaris didn't seem to notice," Thalon pointed out. "Think about it."

"I'm thinking, but I still don't see how."

"Well regardless, the doctor is going to take a look at the scans and see what she can find."

"And if she finds nothing?" N'reinn asked him.

Thalon simply shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I want to be able to release you, but I'm not sure that's a good idea until we know for sure."

"So guilty until proven innocent?"

"More a potential threat until proven safe. You know that if there's any doubt we have to hold you here. You know that if there was another member of the crew that was suspected that you would do the same thing."

"This could be what it wants. To sew the seeds of doubt. There is a battle coming and you'll need me in the operations centre manning the tactical station."

"I know, but we'll just have to compromise on that. I'm sorry, Commander." Thalon turned and stepped out of the room while N'reinn sat there fuming.

She would have liked it if they had actually talked to her before having her escorted down here under guard like some criminal. This was a mistake, one that couldn't have come at a worse time. There was a potential impending battle and removing her could cost them, which she suspected might have been this transcendent life form's plan. To throw them off kilter.

If that was the case, then the admiral had fallen for it and there was little they could do to change his mind.

All they could do was wait this out.

* * *

Cramer looked up from her computer monitor as the admiral stepped into her office. The moment the doors were closed he began to speak. "Anything?"

"Still looking through the scans," she told him.

He sat down opposite. "This is really not good, is it?"

"No, it's not. Without more information on what we're dealing with we're going on supposition and guesswork."

"I know, but we can't just shrug our shoulders, pretend nothing is wrong and let N'reinn loose. She could be a danger."

"Could be, or we might be chasing ghosts."

"I think a spectral formless life form pretty much qualifies as a ghost, so yes, we are literally chasing a ghost."

"Not quite literal, but I get where you're coming from," Cramer accepted.

"How long?" Thalon asked her.

"Might be a while before I've gone through all of it, but if there is anything I should find it before long."

Thalon opened his mouth to speak when he heard Commander Gessi over the intercom. _"Operations to Admiral Thalon."_

Thalon stood up and pressed down the comm unit on the desk. "Thalon here, what's up?"

 _"Fleet of ships are on approach?"_

"The Drayans?" the admiral questioned.

" _Could be them, but these are coming from the opposite direction. Coming in fast. The other fleet, the first one, has yet to move. This looks to be a whole new group"_

"ETA?"

" _Thirty-two minutes."_

"How did they get so close before being detected?"

" _We're not sure, sir."_

"I'm on my way, Thalon out." He deactivated the intercom and looked at Cramer. "I have to go."

"I'll keep you updated."

* * *

"ETA?" the admiral asked as he stepped into Operations.

Gessi looked up from the central console. "Twenty-seven minutes, no response to hails."

"What about the Drayan fleet waiting a light year out?"

"Still haven't moved," Gessi informed him.

Thalon looked up at the screen which showed the tactical display and the approaching ships. "How many?"

"Undetermined, but we believe there's a ship of significant size."

"What's significant? Is it the First Federation?"

Gessi shook his head. "No, it's not them, or at least we don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Thalon questioned. "The only thing we know that's out this way apart from our new 'friends' the Drayans is the First Federation."

"I honestly can't say, sir. We'll just have to wait and see, in-" Gessi checked the clock. "-Twenty-Two minutes."

Thalon looked around at the officers and crewman all around him. He hoped they were ready because he certainly wasn't. He had thought this would be a good challenge, how wrong he was. This didn't feel like a challenge, more like a punishment.

In twenty minutes he was hoping someone friendly dropped out of warp because so far he was starting to feel that this station was quite lonely out here on the frontier with nothing but enemies.

* * *

Amy Cramer stepped into N'reinn's room where the two guards were still stood by the door.

"How are we feeling?" Cramer asked more out of habit. N'reinn wasn't here because she was ill, but because of a suspicion.

"A little queasy, actually," N'reinn told her.

Cramer's brow rose as she raised her scanner and did a quick check. Sure enough, her body temperature had risen slightly. "Anything else?"

N'reinn shook her head. "No, just the queasiness." She looked up at her. "So, did you find anything wrong with us or can we leave?"

For a moment what N'reinn had said went right over her head until she processed the words. "Hold on, did you just refer to yourself in the plural?"

N'reinn didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the wall, a behaviour that had been observed in Saaris when she had first been brought in.

Cramer raised her scanner again to take a reading. She lowered it as N'reinn looked at her and spoke. "I'm starting to feel a little better now, thanks, doc."

"I haven't done anything," Cramer said now very concerned. "I'm going to keep you in under observation, okay?"

N'reinn didn't respond. This was exactly what had happened to Saaris. She had seemed a little out of it and Cramer put it down to shock and fatigue. Now she knew otherwise. She now wondered if it was the other life form trying to take control.

Cramer decided to take a chance. She turned to the two security officers. "Please give us some privacy."

"We were ordered by the Admiral to stay in here."

"You can wait outside, I just need some privacy for a few moments, it is important."

The two security guards looked at each other before both turned and left.

As soon as the doors were closed, Cramer moved closer to N'reinn who seemed oblivious to her presence. It was time to see if what she had in mind would work or make her look foolish.

"I want to speak with the life form inhabiting Kceris N'reinn's body."

It was a simple request, but she knew that there was no real way to know what the response would be. She had no idea whether being discovered would elicit a negative or violent response from the creature. By asking the security officers to leave she was hoping she was displaying good faith.

Regardless, it didn't seem to matter as N'reinn remained seemingly oblivious, staring forward at the wall. It was not the response she had been hoping for, but alas was the one she was unfortunately expecting.

"I just want to communicate, to understand your position," Cramer continued, wondering if she was even getting through. "Is it fair on Kceris to have her body taken from her?"

There was still no response. It was almost like she was in a waking coma. Saaris had never been this bad and Cramer was worried that this did not bode well.

Then again, her being a host of some unknown entity didn't bode well regardless.

"Why do this?" Cramer asked with futility. "Why take control of someone?"

With still no response, the doctor held up her scanner. Her vitals were all normal, a little too normal.

Then the Caitian looked at her, causing Cramer to take a step back. "Lieutenant Commander?" she asked.

Then came the response. "It is time."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter** **Nineteen**

"Four vessels dropping out of warp," the lieutenant sat at the tactical station reported. "One of them is massive, sir. Nearing nine-hundred metres in length."

"Yellow alert," Gessi ordered.

"Let's see them," Thalon said. "Put it onscreen."

The small fleet appeared on the large viewer and sure enough one of the vessels was a lot bigger than the others. It also looked a lot like it was a ship of nobility, complete with flourishes and frills.

"Still any response to hails?" Thalon asked Rivera, momentarily taking his eyes off of the screen.

She shook her head in the negative. "No, sir."

"Definitely Drayan ships," Gessi said. "That big one is heavily armed and armoured. It's certainly not just for show, despite its looks."

"Have they armed weapons?" Thalon questioned.

"Negative," came the response. "They are on approach to the station, though are showing no signs of hostility."

Thalon took in a deep breath. He did not want to escalate things, but he also couldn't leave the station open to potential weapons fire. "All of our ships are to intercept."

Rivera nodded. "Aye, sir."

Thalon looked at Gessi. "Seems everyone wants the entity, whatever it is."

"If that's even the reason they're here," Gessi said.

Thalon conceded the point. "You're right, we don't know for certain, but it's a fair guess."

Rivera spun around from her console. "Sir, our ships report their shields and weapons have gone offline. They are also unable to manoeuvre."

The tactical officer confirmed. "Sir, our shields and weapons have also gone offline. Controls are unresponsive to commands, I can't raise them or arm weapons."

Thalon stood there momentarily stunned. How had they managed to neutralize them so quickly and easily? He regained his composure, knowing that the how had to wait. He needed to act. "Computer," the admiral began. "This is Admiral Brax Thalon."

"No use," Rivera said, adding to the bad news. "The computer interface to the operations centre has just been cut as has communications throughout the station."

"Try and get it back," Thalon commanded, feeling control begin to slip away.

"I can't," she uttered. "All commands are dead."

"What about auxiliary control?" Thalon questioned.

Gessi shook his head. "Best bet is to access the main command computer directly. If Ops has been cut off, then no doubt AC has as well."

"Good call." Thalon headed for the turbo-lift where two security officers stood. He gestured to one of them "You're with me."

"Understood."

The two left the operations centre and thankfully the elevator still worked. The admiral didn't like the idea of having to climb down. Luckily it wasn't far, only a single deck down. Unfortunately, that moment of luch was brief.

The doors slid shut and the elevator moved the single deck only for them to refuse to open again. It appeared they would have to find an alternate way in.

* * *

Amy Cramer's eyes opened and she was greeted with a pounding headache and the concerned face of Petra Grace looking down at her.

"You okay?" Petra asked. "You took a nasty hit."

Cramer looked towards the bed. "Where's N'reinn?" she asked sitting up.

"Gone," came the unwanted response.

The doctor rubbed her jaw. "How long've I been out?"

"Only a few minutes since she busted outta here, knocked out the two security guards outside and bolted to the turbo-lift. One of the nurses tried to stop her, but she barrelled them out of the way."

"Have you contacted security?"

Petra shook her head in the negative. "We can't, comms are down."

With the help of Petra, Cramer got back to her feet. "We need to find her."

"Why, what's wrong with her?"

"She's possessed."

"You mean actually possessed or she's just high on medication?"

"She has some entity controlling her. We need to find her."

"Wait, what?"

"There's no time to explain. We have to find her."

"She's stuck here on the station," Petra said. "We wait until the comms are back, then call security. Going after her, or it or whatever is stupid, you could get hurt."

"This can't wait. We need to find her, we don't know what the entity wants."

"You think it's behind the comms going down?"

Cramer nodded. "Yes, if they're down then the entity has to have something to do with it."

"You think we're in danger?" Petra questioned.

"I don't know," Cramer said as she stepped out of the room. "Where are the two security officers?"

The nurse pointed. "Took them in that room to give them the once-over. Do you need them for something?"

"I need them to help me find N'reinn."

"You can't go after her, Amy, you'll get hurt."

"I need to find a way to separate her and the entity. To do that, I need her here."

The doors to the room opened and the two stepped inside. Cramer noticed that one of the security officers had a rather nasty bruise on his face around the eye with some swelling.

"Are you two up for finding N'reinn with me?" the doctor asked them, not wasting a moment of time.

The two of them nodded, while the nurse tending to them disagreed. "I don't think that's a good idea, he has a fracture in his eye socket."

"Then I'll take the guy without the fracture, we need to find the commander and bring her back here."

The able security officer moved over to the doctor. "We're going to need more than just the two of us if we want to take her down."

"You have a phaser, don't you?"

The one with the fractured eye socket spoke up. "I shot her with a heavy stun. It didn't even faze her. Just made her angry enough to smack me in the face."

"Give me your phaser," Cramer said moving over to him. "With both of us armed, we stand a better chance."

Petra moved in front of her aunt. "And how do you stop her? You heard what he said. A heavy stun should have knocked her out. If it didn't even make her stagger, then how are you going to bring her back here?"

Cramer moved around her and took the phaser. "We'll figure something out. Maybe we can reason with the entity."

"That's a bad plan," Petra said. "We should wait until comms are back up."

Cramer agreed but was still firm in her decision. "We need to bring her back before something happens. Hopefully, I can communicate with this entity, make it realise that we want to help."

"Do we really want to help it?" Petra asked. "Because in its mind, helping it might consist of letting it do whatever it is it's doing."

"I'm aware of that."

"We need-"

Cramer interrupted with a raised hand. "She already has a head start. I can't stand around and chat any longer." With that Cramer and the security officer left the room.

* * *

Thalon and the security officer had managed to exit the turbo-lift the deck below the upper command computer core. Unfortunately, the stairwell that led into the core was also sealed.

The admiral paced back and forth while the security officer cut through the door using his phaser.

He knew the longer they were without shields, the longer it would take to get the station's defences up. Not only that but to be able to organize if they decided to board the station.

"How long?" Thalon asked finally.

"I don't know sir. I'm maybe an eighth of the way."

The admiral could see that. He knew it hadn't been that long since they started, but the need for urgency made this feel like a slog. He was starting to wish he had brought both security officers instead of just one. It was too late now. By the time he went back up to ops and returned the phaser would have probably gotten through most of the door.

Things were made more difficult because unlike most doors, which were double, this was a single, meaning they couldn't cut out a segment of the door then force them open, they had to cut out a chunk large enough for them to get through.

All of this did beg the question. How had N'reinn accomplished all of this without anyone noticing? How had she managed to effectively cripple the station all on her own?

He needed answers and once the station was back online and the threat driven off, he would get them no matter how long it took.

* * *

N'reinn stopped at a junction and looked around. She had no clue as to why she was in the corridor, but she felt that there was something she needed to do.

Then she remembered. They needed to find DenliLos. The Palace Cruiser was here to take them off of this station so they could figure out how to retake Draya.

She moved forward to a security checkpoint where the two officers stood phasers at the ready.

"Lieutenant Commander," One greeted. "What's going on? Comms are down."

N'reinn knew that they would prove difficult to deal with once she had freed DenliLos from the brig.

She moved forward, palms striking him hard in the face before spinning with a round-house kick to the other's face. Both went down without much effort and she continued on to the main brig.

The doors slid open and she once again paused. Why did she need to take the prisoner from the brig? She quickly remembered. They needed to both get off of the station. They were in danger here, so was DenliLos.

She moved forward to find the prisoner sat down. He looked up at her. "More questions?"

"It is time that we left," she said.

A confused frown crossed his face. "What do you mean?"

"The Palace Cruiser has arrived and it is time I took my place once more."

"Transcendent?" he questioned standing up.

She deactivated the forcefield as her response.

* * *

Amy Cramer stepped over the unconscious security guards as she and the redshirt both headed to the doors that led into the brig. It was obvious that N'reinn was here for the Drayan they were holding, but for what purpose? To free him. To go where?

Unbeknownst to Cramer, there was a small fleet outside. Without this knowledge, the doctor couldn't see the reason why N'reinn had acted out now? She had made the false guess that it was because the entity knew it had been discovered.

With phasers drawn and raised, the two of them made their way into the brig. As the doors opened they were greeted by N'reinn and the Drayan DenliLos who was no longer behind a forcefield.

"Stop," Cramer ordered.

"We're afraid we can't do that," N'reinn responded.

"What is it you want?" Cramer asked. "We can help you, just let N'reinn go."

N'reinn, or rather the entity didn't respond. The Caitian leapt forwards, the security officer managed to get off a shot before he was knocked unconscious. Cramer took a step back her phaser raised. "Don't come any closer," she warned.

"You can't hurt us." The Caitian moved forwards. Cramer managed to get off a shot, but it went wide. It wouldn't have mattered regardless and the doctor knew that.

A moment later she was struck hard. She fell back her vision blurry. N'reinn and DenliLos stepped over her as they left the brig. Slowly the daze that clouded her mind began to clear and she managed to climb to her feet.

No one could ever accuse her of having a glass jaw, but right now she kind of wished she did. Her jaw hurt like hell. She looked down and up the corridor and found no sign of N'reinn or DenliLos. She quickly turned and shook the downed security officer.

Slowly he opened his eyes, before clutching the side of his head in pain.

"They got away," Cramer said unnecessarily. "I don't know where, though."

She moved over to the other downed security officers who had been posted at the brig. She checked for a pulse before gently shaking him. Slowly he awoke.

"Doc?" he asked confused.

"You were knocked out. We need to organise a search for Lieutenant Commander N'reinn."

"Umm, what?" he asked before his eyes went wide. "She attacked us."

"We need to go to the security office," Cramer said, helping him to his feet, before waking the other up.

As the four of them set off, the red alert klaxon sounded and the voice of Lieutenant Rivera echoed through the halls.

" _Red Alert, all personnel to action stations."_

* * *

Admiral Thalon stepped into Ops. He wished he was responsible, but they hadn't managed to cut through the door before communications, shields and weapons all came back online.

At the same time, the Drayan ships had all turned and jumped to warp as both the station and the starships outside all slowly powered back up.

"Report?" Thalon asked.

Gessi responded. "It seems whatever N'reinn did, it's over."

"Not until we purge the system of whatever she's done to it," Thalon said. "Any ideas?"

"She used the command codes to override the ships," Gessi reported. "Got into their systems somehow."

"She doesn't have the access to do anything like that," Thalon said. "How did she do it?"

"I don't know but clearly she found a way around it," Gessi said.

"What about the _Shaandra_ and the other ships?"

"Powering up."

"Can we send one after that fleet?"

Gessi shook his head. "Sir, I wouldn't recommend it. Just before you got back on the deck, the main Drayan fleet began their approach."

"Did this group of Drayans do anything while our defences were offline?"

Gessi shrugged. "We don't know.

"Why did they do all that just to turn about and leave?" Thalon asked. "Have you checked in with the brig or sickbay?"

"Not yet."

Thalon pushed down the comms unit on the command console. "Thalon to Doctor Cramer."

" _Cramer here and yes she's gone. I'm at the security office and the transporter down here was used. N'reinn and DenliLos are gone."_

"Then we've lost her," Thalon said in defeat.

"We'll get her back," Gessi said.

The admiral wasn't so sure. "Once we've dealt with the main Drayan fleet, I want a meeting of all senior personnel. Figure out what we do from here."

Gessi nodded. "I'll see to it, sir."

"ETA on the Drayan fleet?"

"Ten hours, sir."

He turned to Rivera. "Open a hailing frequency. Let's give them the news that the one they're after is no longer on the station."

"Hailing frequencies are open sir, directed at the Drayan fleet."

Thalon cleared his throat before speaking. "Drayan fleet. The one that you are after is no longer on this station. They have escaped. Please respond."

He waited to no avail. It appeared that they would be forced into a fight regardless.

* * *

Commander Saaris was becoming restless. She had thought that whatever tests they were running on her would have concluded by now and that she would have been allowed to retire to her own quarters.

She had seen little sign of any nurses or doctors in the last few hours and she was wondering if she had been forgotten about.

That notion was quickly dispelled as the doors slid open and Doctor Cramer stepped inside. Saaris observed the nasty bruise on her chin but opted to not say anything about it.

"Afternoon," the doctor greeted.

"Afternoon, Doctor. May I ask when I will be released?"

"Soon," Cramer responded.

"Is there any reason why it is taking so long?"

"There is a reason, but I'm afraid I can't divulge it."

"If it is the reason I am being held here, then I would like to know."

Cramer held up her hand scanner and took some readings. "You're in perfect health."

"Which is why I am confused that I am still here."

"Just sit back and relax, Commander. You'll be out of here soon. Just some paperwork to get through, that's all."

Saaris said nothing despite believing that the doctor wasn't being honest with her.

"Very well," the Vulcan accepted. "I shall wait here."

"Sorry about this," Cramer offered. "I know it's dull sat in here, but it won't be for much longer. Promise." The doctor stepped out of the room and Saaris grabbed the monitor that rested on the long articulated arm and began to peruse the Federation News Network articles.

There were, of course, the reports of rising tensions along both the Klingon and Romulan borders. For a change, these tensions were not wholly aimed at the Federation but at each other. Apparently, the not-so-secret alliance between the Star Empire and the Klingon Empire had deteriorated, almost as quickly as it had formed.

This was not at all surprising. Both empires were rather rigid and both were overly suspicious of others. Neither liked to make concessions thus no alliance between these powers was ever going to last.

However, it seemed the alliance had done the opposite. It had made these two empires distrust each other even more so than they had before.

The build-up to war for these two empires was troublesome and seemingly inevitable. Neither was the type to back down and both were the type to exacerbate tensions not try to diffuse them.

The doors slid open and Doctor Cramer once again stepped inside, this time with Admiral Thalon.

Saaris switched off the monitor and pushed it aside before nodding her head towards the admiral. "Good day, Admiral."

"Commander Saaris," he greeted in return. He pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "I'm not really sure how to go about saying this but I'm afraid that you had some kind of lifeform, an entity inside you."

Her brow raised, the feeling of dread welling up deep inside. She pushed it down with ease, her features giving nothing away. "From the device that exploded?"

Thalon nodded seeming surprised. "How did you know?"

"It is the only place such an entity could come from."

"You don't seem shocked or disturbed by this," Thalon pointed out.

"I assure you that I am both. Do you have proof of this?"

He nodded. "I do, but not on me."

"And you say that it was in me. If it is no longer, then where is it?"

"N'reinn," Thalon told her. "And she's gone."

"Gone? As in she is dead or left the station."

"Left the station."

"And why come tell me this? I assume this information is somewhat classified."

"I need your help. The entity shared your body. It might have left something behind. Vulcans are telepathic, right?"

"Touch telepathic," Saaris corrected. She knew where he was going. "You believe that if I go into my own mind, I might be able to connect with this creature?"

Thalon looked surprised, as did Cramer. "No, actually, I just wanted to know if there were any memories, but if we can connect with the creature telepathically, then that is even better."

Cramer was less convinced. "Over lightyears distance. I'm no physicist but doesn't that break the laws of physics?"

"Vulcan telepathy doesn't always follow the rules," Saaris said simply.

Cramer objected to that. "Nonsense. You can't just-"

Thalon interrupted. "Can you do it?" he asked the Vulcan.

"I will need another mind to help me focus. Another Vulcan, preferably one that I trust would be optimal. But since there are no others I know that are here I would prefer Paul."

"Schaffer?" Cramer questioned.

"I will talk to him," Thalon said. "But there is another matter that will have to be dealt with first."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter** **Twenty**

The Drayan fleet was here and so far they had not responded to any hails or, thankfully armed their weapons. Their shields were raised but that was all.

There was still a chance to avoid conflict, but it was quickly dwindling and all attempts to contact the Drayans thus far had been met with a cold silence.

"Still no response," Rivera informed the admiral for the umpteenth time

The Tactical Officer added. "They have slowed and are holding their position."

Gessi tapped his fingers against the central command console while Thalon kept his eyes on the large viewscreen which showed the Drayan fleet. The fact that they weren't shooting at them yet, did give the admiral some hope, even if it was only a small amount.

"We're being hailed," Rivera reported. "Audio only."

"Let's hear it." The admiral knew that this was his only chance to stop this and he had to take it and not mess it up. He inhaled deeply and slowly let his breath back out.

The voice of the same Drayan commander they had spoken to earlier echoed through the speakers. He did not sound pleased. _"Where is the creature? Where have you taken it?"_

That was an odd question considering the circumstances. Did they know the entity was no longer aboard the station? If so, did the have a way of tracking it?

Thalon answered, keeping his words measured and well thought out. "A small fleet of Drayan ships arrived and the entity managed to escape in possession of one of my officers. Literally."

" _Your officer was lost the moment the creature entered their mind. Where did they go?"_

"We don't know where they are," Thalon answered honestly. He hoped that it would be enough.

What was said next by Lieutenant Rivera did not fill him with confidence. "They've cut the call, sir."

That was not what he wanted to hear. It had been his hope that they would be able to avoid conflict. Now, it looked almost certain.

Except it wasn't.

The tactical officer turned from his station. "Sir, they're turning about."

Thalon watched on the viewscreen as the Drayan fleet jumped to warp and left.

He heard Gessi release his breath with a heavy sigh. "I've never been so glad to have my expectations so utterly smashed. I was sure we were going to have to fight."

Thalon nodded in agreement. "They're not gone yet. Let us wait before we decide to stand down from yellow alert." Thalon looked at Rivera. "Have all ships maintain patrol around the station for the next four hours. If the Drayans don't turn around, then I want the _Shaandra_ and the two defence vessels back in dock. Keep the _London_ at the ready."

"Understood, sir."

"I also want the captain and first officer of both the _London_ and _Shaandra_ to join our meeting later."

"Understood."

"I will be in my office." He made his way up through his yeoman's office and into his own. As soon as the doors were shut he released the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

He felt that things were very quickly growing out of his control. His previous posting had been a research station, he didn't know how to deal with new species.

There were supposed to be ambassadors and such on the way, but as with everything else on this cursed station, they would arrive long after they were needed.

He moved slowly to his desk and sat down behind it, his head in his hands. He felt relief that they had avoided conflict but he also felt no closer to opening a dialogue with the Drayans.

What he needed to do now was to call a meeting and try and figure something out.

* * *

Slowly the conference room filled up with personnel. First, it was Thalon and Gessi. Then came Cramer followed shortly by the two captains and first officers, Anthi, Herrera, Cayman and Coleman.

They all sat down and Thalon decided to begin. "A lot has happened over the last few days. Most of which some of you are in the dark about." His eyes fell onto Commander Cayman, N'reinn's close friend. "The device that DenliLos had with him was some kind of storage container."

"For what?" Anthi asked.

"A life form," he answered. "The device self-destructed and this entity joined with Commander Saaris."

"Is she being held?" Herrera questioned.

"This is where things get complicated. According to DenliLos the only way to separate the entity is through death. Only apparently this is not the case. The entity jumped to Lieutenant Commander N'reinn. It used her to disable the station and the ships with the command codes then she escaped, leaving with them." He looked back at Commander Cayman.

The Commander spoke up. "So Kceris is gone?"

"Yes," Thalon confirmed. "Controlled by this entity."

Herrera said, "So this is why the second fleet didn't attack. There was no reason to, the thing they were after was no longer here."

"There is more we need to think about," Thalon continued. "For instance, they seemed to know the entity wasn't here before we told them. How?"

Coleman answered. "Clearly they can track it. That must be why they broke off the attack with the _Ishimura_ and pursued the _London_ , because the _London_ had the device that held this entity."

Anthi brought up another point. "Are there two factions at work here?"

Thalon nodded. "I believe so. Those that are loyal to this entity that has been their queen for millennia and those that have turned against it."

"The question is," Gessi began, "How do we track this entity. Clearly the Drayans know how, so there must be a way."

"Saaris," Cramer answered. "The entity was within her at one point. It is possible there might still be some connection. Or at least she thinks so."

"Might?" Cayman questioned.

"I don't understand Vulcan mysticism so I can't exactly say for sure. This all seems like magic to me. Possessions and all that. It's just not something I'm comfortable or particularly knowledgeable about."

"Do you know where she is?" Cayman asked.

Thalon shook his head. "No idea. We will be attempting something with Saaris later, but for now, we need to focus on the purpose of the meeting, which is to inform you of everything that is going on and what we currently know."

Everyone turned their full attention to the admiral. "Firstly, there are two groups. Loyalists and I guess you could call them Independents who want to go their own way without intervention from the entity. The Independents are the ones that attacked and destroyed one colony and then attacked another. They clearly could locate or at least somehow track the entity but it is obviously not precise."

"Is there a way of figuring out how they do it?" Captain Anthi asked. "Any strange scans or emissions coming off of their ship?"

Gessi answered. "We are looking into that, but nothing so far."

Herrera folded her arms. "So how much do we know exactly?"

"Unfortunately, very little," Thalon said. "We don't know where the Drayan homeworld is, or whether they have colonised any systems in this region. We know they are roughly a century behind us in terms of basic technology. We know nothing more than that."

"What about Kceris?" Commander Cayman asked. "What are we going to do to get her back?"

"At this moment in time there isn't much we can do except what we're trying. Right now, Commander Saaris is our only hope."

"And if she can't do her mind jumbo to find her?" Cayman questioned. "What then?"

"Then we're stuck," Thalon answered. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but we have no clue whatsoever as to where she has gone or why this entity chose her other than opportunity. Clearly what DenliLos told us that the separation meant the death of the host, so maybe there's a chance. We just have to find her."

Cayman raised her hand. "I volunteer the _London_ to start the search."

Captain Anthi was unimpressed. "I wasn't aware that it was your ship. Did I get replaced while I wasn't looking?"

The commander fell silent.

Thalon said, "Actually Commander Cayman, I want a temporary transfer of you to the station."

Her head snapped to the admiral. "Me, sir?"

"It's up to you, but I need someone who knows what they are doing."

Anthi objected. "Admiral, you can't take my tactical and executive officer. This station would be a demotion for her."

"I know, it's just an offer. We're running short here and now my head of security has been essentially abducted."

Herrera spoke up. "I can recommend one of my own security officers."

"Perhaps I'll take you up on that," Thalon accepted. "For now, everyone report back to you ships. This isn't over, not by a long shot."

* * *

Saaris was in control of her emotions. That was something that she never thought she would be able to say again, even to herself but that control had returned.

Nervousness was not something that she could say was a particularly troublesome emotion. It had never given her much trouble in the past, however, the admiral wanted her to do something where the outcome was entirely uncertain.

Present in the room with her was the Admiral, Doctor Cramer and Paul Schaffer. She had requested that there be few people here as she didn't want too many people being too close to her during this time.

As to what they would find. She was not expecting much of anything, but they had to try just in case there was something.

With everything in place, both Saaris and Paul sat opposite each other the Vulcan began. She reached for his hands and took him lightly by the wrists.

"I am going to place your hands on my Katra points."

"Okay," he said.

She raised both of his hands and he did the rest, placing his fingers more or less in the right places.

"Very good," she said. "I will now do the same."

She placed her fingers against his face and he closed his eyes. She did the same.

After a moment, Thalon spoke up. "Aren't you supposed to say something when melding?"

She opened her eyes. "We are not doing a proper meld. I am simply using Paul as an anchor point, an aide to help me focus."

"Oh, okay."

"Now please remain silent. Any interruption will cause severe delays."

"Understood."

Saaris once more closed her eyes and began to focus. There were several issues with what she was attempting. Firstly was that she had absolutely no clue as to what it was she was looking for.

The Vulcan looked deep into her own mind. She could feel Schaffer, his own mind acting as a waypoint so that she could find her way back.

She began to sift through her own mind trying to find anything that did not belong. At first she found nothing, then she felt what could only be described the echo of another mind.

Her first thought was that it could be Paul, but as she drew closer she could easily dismiss that. Whatever this echo was, it was foreign yet strangely familiar.

She moved closer trying to gauge what it was. Then she felt herself being pulled out, losing whatever it was she had found.

Saaris' eyes snapped open and she looked up to see Thalon stood beside her. Both her and Paul's hands fell away from the other's face.

"Are you okay?" Thalon asked.

She was unimpressed. "I am fine."

"So am I," Schaffer added. "Why, was something wrong?"

"You've been at this ten minutes," Cramer said. "Brax got a little worried."

That actually surprised Saaris. She had been unaware so much time had passed. Unfortunately, she had been interrupted at an inopportune moment.

She made her displeasure known. "I had just found something unusual before being interrupted."

"What was it?" Thalon questioned. "Was it the entity?" Before she could answer, the admiral turned to Schaffer. "Did you feel anything? Notice anything unusual?"

"Nothing," Schaffer answered.

"He will not sense anything," Saaris said. "He is not part of this exactly. He is just a familiar mind that will guide me back. He will enter the trance with me, but he will not see or experience anything I saw or will see. And to answer your question, Admiral, I do not know because I was interrupted."

Thalon took a step back and sat down. "How long is this expected to take?"

"It could take hours," Saaris told him. "If you believe that is too long, then I suggest we either reconvene or halt the attempt altogether."

Thalon looked at Cramer. "Doctor, what do you think?"

She held up her hand scanner. "I'll keep an eye on both of them, but there was nothing to worry about. They were both relaxed, no weird readings whatsoever. I think we can do this, but no more than two hours. Ideally, the shorter time this takes the better."

Saaris bowed her head. "Very well, I shall try again."

Both raised their hands, placing them on each other's face. Then both closed their eyes and the Vulcan once more began to delve into her own mind, retracing her own steps from before trying to find the strange echo.

Then she found it. The echo seemed to be of herself, but it wasn't. There was something foreign and alien about it.

She dove deeper trying to find the exact source of this echo only to find shadows and strange snapshots of memories that were not her own.

These memories were fragmented and not whole. As though remnants of true memories that were not available to her. She pushed deeper, forcing the remnants aside as she tried to find the source.

She pushed on until she believed she had found the origin of the foreign aspect within her own mind and tried to access it.

Quickly she realised that it was going to be far from easy. It was as though a physical wall had been erected around it, blocking access. In a way, it was like a file on a computer system and she did not have the password or necessary permissions in order to access it.

Saaris remained unperturbed as she looked for a way in. This was her mind and she held dominion over it and everything within. She did not appreciate some entity leaving parts of its consciousness inside her own.

Her mind conjured up a sphere to represent the foreign aspect in her mind. She moved around it looking for any kind of weakness. Finding none she took matters into her own hands.

She visualised raising her palms to the sphere and touched its surface. It held no texture, but had a clear and evident force that repelled her fingers.

The Vulcan only pushed back harder as she tried to peel away the surface and find what was lurking deep beneath.

Slowly the shell began to strip away revealing what was beneath. Saaris stepped back and shielded her eyes from a bright light. It was all in her mind and she understood that, but the sensation of brightness seemed quite real.

As the light dimmed she lowered her hands to see shadows dancing around before her. She stepped forward, her hands outstretched intending to see if she could make contact.

Her hands touched one of the dark figures only for it to dissipate into a dark mist.

Then a voice spoke from behind. "Isn't this interesting."

Saaris turned around to see N'reinn only she seemed to be translucent with other people fading in and out. Standing there a few moments she could only see two other faces. One was of a Drayan and the other was her own face, but it was not nearly as strong as the other two.

All around N'reinn was a blue glow of light that seemed to flicker and pulsate.

N'reinn moved closer. "How were you able to contact us?"

Saaris straightened her posture. "You left remnants of yourself in my mind," she informed what she believed was a manifestation of the entity. "May I inquire as to whether I am speaking with the entity?"

"You may refer to us as the Transcendent."

"Us? Then you are both Lieutenant Commander N'reinn and the Entity?" Saaris inquired, genuinely intrigued.

"We are becoming an amalgam of both. We are all that we was, even you."

"But I am separate."

"Perhaps now, but an aspect of you is part of me. It was how you are able to speak with us, though we were not expecting it."

"I would like to talk with N'reinn."

"You are speaking with us."

"No, I wish to speak with her on her own without the merged mind."

"You do not understand. You are speaking with the one you knew as N'reinn. We are transcended, we are joined."

"Did she agree to this?" Saaris questioned. "Was she willing?"

"Once the one you refer as the "Entity" revealed itself to the one you knew as N'reinn, this joining was accepted. Our goals are the same."

"The same?" Saaris wondered if the entity truly believed that? If so, then it could be that the more powerful mind was overriding the weaker without the entity's knowledge? Or perhaps they truly were joined.

"Starfleet will not accept you taking one of their officers."

"Perhaps not, but it was necessary."

"Why?"

"For us to take our place as ruler of Draya. The people need our wisdom, our leadership."

"And what if they no longer need or require your wisdom?" Saaris questioned. "You have taken over someone's body and mind without permission."

"You Vulcans have a saying, do you not? The needs of the many?"

Saaris found herself crossing her arms. "You take that from my mind?"

"We saw a lot in your mind," the Transcendent said. "We were able to use what you and the former N'reinn knew to disable not only your station's ability to attack or defend but also that of the four ships that defended your station so that we could leave."

"You should have found another way. You have taken someone and we want them back."

"N'reinn is no longer. Transcendent N'reinn is the only one that exists now. We are sorry, we truly are. When you awake, tell Arie that we are sorry and tell Cayan that we are sorry."

"Who is Cayan?"

"You will know. But for now, we are sorry. This connection will reveal more than we are willing to divulge at this time. When you awake it will be as though you never slept."

"What do you mean?" Saaris questioned.

She did not receive a response.

* * *

Schaffer felt relaxed. His hands were on Saaris' face her hers on his. He could hear her, Thalon and Cramer's breath but that was all. Even the hum of the station seemed to be inaudible, though just thinking about it he became acutely aware that the hum existed and thus could once more hear it.

Still, he felt more relaxed than he had done in a long time. He was strangely having a good time despite doing almost nothing. Often, he felt that people got stuck in their repetitive lives, trapped in schedules either consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes it was good to just do literally nothing.

Then contact was broken. The moment Saaris' hands left his face a splitting headache struck him, causing him to hold his head in pain.

He heard movement and managed to open his eyes to find Saaris slumped over in her chair with Thalon at her side and Cramer scanning her.

Schaffer jumped out of his seat. "What's wrong with her?"

Cramer answered. "I don't know. It's like she's asleep, but these readings aren't normal."

"Are you okay?" Thalon asked him as Schaffer winced in pain.

"I have a migraine," he answered clutching his head.

"We better get you both to a bed," Cramer said.

Schaffer nodded, feeling exhausted. A bed sounded good right at that moment. "Okay, Doctor," he said as he stood up before staggering.

"Easy," Thalon said grabbing hold of him before he fell. "I'll help."

"The room next door is free," Cramer said. "Take him in there."

"Okay," Thalon acknowledged as he helped him get into the next room. Inside there were two beds. He helped him to the one on the far side before running back.

"Help carry her into the other room," Cramer said.

Thalon scooped the Vulcan into his arms and followed the doctor through into the next room where he lay her down on the bed next to Schaffer who was laid on the bed clutching his head.

"What's wrong with them?" the admiral asked Cramer.

"I don't know." She switched on the wall monitors. "Their vitals are normal," she said looking at the readout. "Schaffer's heart rate is slightly elevated as is his blood pressure."

"And that means?" Thalon questioned.

A nurse entered the room and Cramer looked at him. "Good, I need your assistance."

"Doctor," the Admiral urged wanting her to answer the question. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know, yet. Let me concentrate."

Thalon decided to let her get on with her work. "I'll be in my office. Contact me if anything changes."

"I will."

The admiral turned and left with his thoughts jumbled. They were under attack from some kind of entity and he had no idea how to battle or reason with it.

He had to find a way, there was no other choice.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter** **Twenty** **-One**

"What happened?" Thalon demanded in Cramer's office.

Four hours had gone by and he had grown tired of waiting for any news on their conditions so he had decided to come find out for himself. Unfortunately, the doctor had no update and no answers.

"I don't know. It's like she's in a coma."

"And Schaffer?"

"Whatever affected Saaris seems to also be affecting him. I think it's because it happened while the two were joined."

"Can you help either of them?"

"We're monitoring and I'm trying to figure out what exactly is going on. Schaffer says he feels tired. We've managed to numb his headache but without knowing what caused it I can't do anything to stop it."

Thalon rubbed his eyes. "This was a mistake. I should have refused. I should have seen the danger."

"It was her decision."

Thalon shook his head. "No, as her commanding officer it was mine. I agreed to it, it's my responsibility."

"It's mine as well," she said.

He stood up. "Do what you can doctor, do what you can."

"I am. My more immediate concern, though, is you."

That took him by surprise. "Me?"

"You need to get some rest. I can see it in your eyes, in your posture. Go get some sleep."

"That an order, doctor?"

"You know it's just advice. I'm not trying to dictate what you should do. Just give suggestions."

"But you can make it an order."

She rubbed her eyes. "I can, but a healthy working relationship means that I don't and that you just do what you know you should do without me having to pull rank."

He agreed. "Okay, doctor. You've made your point."

"I know how you feel, I feel it too. We should never have let her do it, but we thought it might give us some insight, an advantage."

"It was stupid," he said as he turned to face the door. "Goodnight, doctor. Tell me if there's any change."

"You'll be the first to know, sir."

"Thank you."

"And it's not your fault."

Thalon said nothing as he left her office. The feeling of guilt followed him all the way to his quarters. He could have stopped it. He could have decided it was too dangerous and said no.

But he hadn't and now one person was in a coma and the other was suffering. This was another thing he was going to have to add to his report that was less than good news.

It felt like everything had started to come undone so fast. From being informed of the entity's existence by the Drayans, to it escaping in control of N'reinn. It had all happened in such a short time it was hard to fully grasp how it had happened.

He tried retracing all of the steps, all of the decisions he had made and honestly he had no idea what he could have done to change the overall outcome.

The worst part was that he had no idea how to fix it.

* * *

Captain T'kinta was confused and disappointed. No battle, no destruction, no nothing. She had wanted to follow the large alien vessel and the small fleet that had managed to disable not only the station but the ships as well, all without firing a single shot.

But she had wanted to see a battle and when none happened she felt hollow disappointment.

Wanting something more, she had decided to see if they could track the large vessel, but the trail had gone cold. T'kinta, however, was not one to give up.

Not easily at least.

When news came that they were approaching a star system, she had headed straight for the bridge. She knew it was unlikely that the ones she pursued were here, but if not then it only made the hunt last longer.

Captain T'kinta stepped onto the bridge and made her way directly to the centre seat. "What can you tell me about the star system?"

Devuk answered. "Red Dwarf star, three planets one is a gas giant."

"Any unusual emissions or transmissions?"

"Nothing, Captain."

She growled. "Scan again."

"Yes, Captain."

The trail had already long since grown cold by the time they had begun to pursue, but she was not one to give up on the hunt. Especially when it came to elusive prey.

"Anything?" she questioned after a few minutes had passed.

"I believe I am detecting something now. Yes, there is a fleet of ships moving out of the system."

T'kinta smashed her fist down on the armrest and barked at the helmsman. "Pursue them and keep our distance. Let us see where they go."

The helmsman did as instructed. The ship changed course and reduced velocity to warp four and began to follow the small fleet of Drayan ships.

Honestly, T'kinta was feeling a touch disappointed. It felt almost too easy. If she was the paranoid type she would have thought that they had been waiting for them to lead them into some kind of trap.

Of course, if there was such a trap, she would enjoy avoiding it or even using it against her enemy. It would be an interesting challenge, one she doubted would happen. Disappointingly.

The helmsman spoke up. "It appears they are heading to a neighbouring star system."

"How long?"

"Nine hours."

It was shorter than she had expected but still a long time. She stood up from her chair. "Contact me before we arrive," she said as she sauntered off the bridge.

* * *

The Queen Transcendent sat in her chamber aboard Her Palace Cruiser. She had not been expecting the Vulcan to make contact and right now she needed time for her plan to fall into place. The Vulcan threatened that so she had to be temporarily removed from the equation.

It was, after all, the logical thing to do and it would not be forever. A month at the most, if that.

She rose up from where she was sat as she sensed they were approaching their temporary destination and moved out into the hallway where DenliLos was stood waiting.

He bowed. "Transcendent," he greeted.

"It is time to remove the vermin from this sector."

"Vermin my Queen?" DenliLos asked politely.

"The Klingon ship that has been following us since our last stop."

The captain was confused. "My Queen. Forgive me, but what is a Klingon?"

"A repulsive culture built on war and glory. The antithesis of everything any civilized people should strive to be."

The two of them headed down a set of steps and into a tram. The queen sat down while DenliLos remained standing. A minute later they had reached their destination at the front of the Palace Cruiser.

The Queen Transcendent was led into the control room where the captain greeted her with a bow.

"My Queen," the captain said. "I did not know you were coming. I would have-"

She raised a hand interrupting him. "There is no need to apologise. There is something we need to deal with. Have we dropped out of warp speed?"

"Yes we have my Queen," the captain answered.

"Approach the ringed planet and begin a weapons test on the asteroids."

"Yes my Queen," the Captain acknowledged without protest, despite the unusual command.

* * *

Strange. The Drayans were firing on the asteroids that made up the rings of the system's only gas giant.

T'kinta had no idea why they were doing that, however, when they had first charged their weapons she had been sure they had been detected. But no, they were shooting at asteroids for no apparent reason.

Boredom quickly set in as it usually did and she left the bridge to head to the gymnasium to ease her tensions.

She wasn't halfway there before the deck pitched and she found herself falling flat on her face to the sounds of the battle klaxon.

Forcing herself back to her feet, she bolted back to the bridge. The moment she set foot on deck, the ship shook again followed by a brief sensation of weightlessness before she stumbled forwards grabbing the back of the centre chair.

"Report!" she shouted.

The weapons officer responded. "They've split us in two!" he bellowed.

"How?" she demanded. "How did they take us by surprise?"

"They were shooting the asteroids, then without warning, they targeted us and fired. Under cloak, our shields were down." There were sounds of large objects striking the hull, their deep thuds echoing through the hull. He checked his console readout. "We are being boarded."

T'kinta drew her dagger. "We are already dead. Let us make sure we take as many of them with us as we can."

They all stood at the ready with weapons in hand. T'kinta and Devuk had daggers, the helmsman had a disruptor, as did the weapons officer.

All of them stood, staring at the doors that led into the corridor beyond, ready for when the invaders tried to take the bridge.

A few minutes passed before they did. The doors opened to weapons fire streaking into the bridge.

The helmsman was hit while T'kinta managed to take cover behind her chair. With both Devuk and the weapons officer engaging with dagger and disruptor, she dove for the fallen helmsman's own disruptor and gripped it firmly in her grasp.

She fired, turning one of the invading aliens into vapour before she was struck in the chest. She staggered back before being struck by another beam knocking her down.

Consciousness was fleeting. She felt the disrupter get pulled free of her grip. She tried to thrust at the figure looming over her with her dagger, but it was knocked away with ease.

It was at that moment that all of her fears rose to the surface. The fear of dying, not as a warrior, but helplessly laid out on the deck.

She felt arms grip her, but she wasn't conscious enough to understand what was happening. All she knew was that her pitiful display would not grant her access to Sto'Vo'Kor if she died here and now, flailing limply on the floor like a grounded fish.

The only upside she could possibly conceive was that she would end up in the underworld of Gre'thor and be able to kill Kroless over again. Of course, she had not killed him the first time as she had wanted. She had given that honour to Wruk, an honour in retrospect should have been hers. She was the one who had retaken the ship, she was the one who had put Wruk back in command and she had ultimately been the one that had killed him.

It was almost forgotten to her that this meant their mission was over. It had failed and not spectacularly but pitifully. No songs would be sung about her, no stories of her battles. She would go forgotten, her name not remembered by anyone.

* * *

The Queen Transcendent N'reinn watched as what remained of the Klingon ship flared up into a giant fireball. Part of her was saddened by the rather necessary loss of life, the other part was glad that justice had been served.

The captain of the Palace Cruiser approached her with a bow. "The vessel has been destroyed, my Queen."

"Yes, it has," she replied stoically. "Prepare to leave the system."

"Yes, my Queen." He bowed again.

She turned and left the bridge. Instead of heading down to her chambers she climbed aboard the tram and headed towards the holding cells where DenliLos was waiting for her.

"Queen Transcendent," he greeted upon her arrival. "I have been waiting."

"How is our guest?" she asked without pause.

"Guest? Do you mean the Klingon prisoner, my Queen?"

"Yes, that is who I mean," she confirmed.

"Agitated and hostile."

"A Klingon, then," the Transcendent surmised.

"You are familiar with them, my Queen?"

"Of course. Remember an aspect of me was in Starfleet. Klingons are the enemy of the Federation."

"Will there be more of these Klingons coming to the sector?"

"I do not know," she answered truthfully. "Their space is so far away. It is strange that one of their ships was here in the first place."

"I do not wish to second guess your motives for bringing her aboard, but do you believe you can get information out of her, my Queen?"

"I am not hopeful, however, there is no harm in trying. Perhaps an understanding can be formed."

"Of course," he said with a bow. "Do you wish me to take you to the Klingon Captain?"

"Yes. Let me see what kind of individual that I am dealing with."

DenliLos bowed and led the way into the holding cells where two guards greeted her with a bow.

Sat behind the electrified bars was the Klingon commander. The Transcendent stepped up to the cell where the Klingon remained seated ignoring her presence.

"Hello, Klingon," the Transcendent began.

The Klingon looked up at her with a deep glare. "Caitian," she spat.

"I am the Queen Transcendent of the Drayans. The form you see is an aspect of me, a part of what I am."

The Klingon snarled. "Do not speak in riddles. Say what you mean."

"You will come to understand in time."

"Make me understand now. It is not on me if you cannot be clear," the Klingon said.

DenliLos stepped forward, taking exception. "You cannot speak to our Queen that way."

The Transcendent raised her open hand. "It is fine, DenliLos. She comes from a culture that is rude, belligerent and cruel."

The Klingon gripped the electrified bars and held them for several seconds. "I come from a culture of strength and honour." She released her grip on the bars and held up her marked palms. "A strength of will those in the Federation will never understand."

"This is not the Federation," the Transcended corrected. "You will understand soon enough." She turned to her assistant. "Now let us leave. I have seen enough for now."

"I will escape," the Klingon threatened. "I will escape and you will die by my hand."

The Transcendent paused, looking back. "Many have tried. Few have come close."

"I will be the one to succeed."

The Transcendent had the final word. "Good evening, T'kinta." With that, she turned and left, her assistant by her side.

Out in the corridor, she stopped and once more turned to him. "Do you have any updates for me?"

He nodded. "Yes, those schematics you drew and the torpedoes we gathered from the Klingon vessel. We believe we can duplicate the technology."

"We will duplicate it," she promised. "Then we will re-take the homeworld. But for now, we must remain hidden and survive."

"Of course, my Queen."

The two continued onwards down the corridor back towards her chambers.

* * *

All around her were sounds and shapes. Distorted, muffled, unfocused. Glimpses of things that made little sense, of places she had never seen.

Saaris was far from sure where it was that she had found herself, or rather where her mind had found itself.

A being had locked her here unable to find her way back. Her mind was still within her body, but it had lost the ability to find consciousness and was trapped in this construct of thought.

It was the Vulcan's belief that the entity, whatever it was, indented to lock her here for an indefinite time, however, she was not one to give up or give in when faced with a challenge.

No matter how difficult, she would find a way. Even now she could feel the echo of Paul who she had been using as a reference point when she had found the mind of the entity.

His echo, however, was faint and directionless which made trying to follow it a task in itself. It was a task that she would complete no matter how long it took. She did not at all appreciate this attack on her mind.

She would prevail and she would find a way out of this mental prison no matter how long it took.

* * *

 **A/N That's it the end of Part 2. Sorry if it ends on a weird note.**

 **I feel I have to add something to those that have read this. This has probably been the toughest time I've had writing anything and I feel it shows. Half the time I felt like I was writing garbage but had no idea how to fix it or make it better. The problem I felt was pacing in some parts and this was caused by the way it was written which was chapter by chapter. Once a chapter was done, it was done. No looking back, only looking forward. This caused issues with pacing I feel that could have been remedied with drafts, having the freedom to move parts around. With chapter by chapter, you can't move anything. It's done, it's locked, it's out there and cannot be changed because it has already been read. But this is how writing is done on. Bit by bit, chapter by chapter.**

 **My next story (not Trek) is already a few chapters in and I've decided that I'm probably not going to post it until it is complete. This will give me the ability to do drafts, shift things around if the pacing or order isn't right etc. It will also give me the opportunity to read it through as a whole concise story, not in pieces and parts. Only that way do I feel that I can improve my writing.**

 **Thanks to all those that have read.**

 **JG**


End file.
